


Kill 'Em with Kindness

by Voice_of_Mischief



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Also big tone shift starting chapter 8, Cancelled, Does this even count as mafiatale, I have no idea what I'm doing, Mafiatale AU, Not going to be completed, Other, Reader has a green SOUL, Reader is gender neutral, also reader is total dweeb, and that's the fic, and they accidentally stumble upon monsters doing a bad, and they're like a huge chicken, anyway, basically reader is trapped in Ebott City, kill me, literally all of them are sans inserts, look out for that, mafiatale, sue me I have too many fics, undertale - Freeform, when crime is rampant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-11 00:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7014712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voice_of_Mischief/pseuds/Voice_of_Mischief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're not cut out for this.</p>
<p>You're sensitive and scared, jumpy and skittish, easily confused and very guillible, anxious and tense. In short, you're a pansy. In your own eyes, anyway. You just want to get out of here. You're not cut out for this place, not when it was calm, especially not now that it's riddled with humans and monsters constantly at war with one another. You just want to stay safe until you can get out of here, want to keep your hands out of this mess until freedom makes itself known. </p>
<p>But then you bear witness to a group of monsters doing something they probably shouldn't, and you're dragged into the fray. You can't bring yourself to be angry or rude; you just want everyone to be happy. ...Especially that skeleton. The short one, who happens to like bad jokes. He deserves it. Also your cat. He also deserves to be happy.</p>
<p>((cancelled))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Witness

It was very dark, very damp, and you were very tired. 

Why are you out after three AM in a city like this? To be short, money. You've been trying to desperately rake up enough cash to get out of this place, but jobs are sparse and those that are available don't exactly pay great. Not that you can blame them. Since everything went to hell, having your property stolen or busted isn't exactly a rarity. Even the street lamps aren't safe. 

Everything took a turn for the worse when the monsters appeared on the surface. Not that it was their fault, far from it! It's just... If humans can hardly get along amongst themselves, to expect them to get along with a bunch of visually varied 'immigrants' that quite suddenly came out from underneath their feet was hopeless. There were normal folks, like yourself, who didn't mind them in the slightest and even welcomed them, but then there were... the extremists. The ones who started this madness. 

Organized crime is running rampant through this city, and most of the normal folk had made a break for it as soon as things started showing signs of tension. That left only the crazies and the people stuck here, like yourself, to make up the human population. The government doesn't know what to do; they can't settle on a peace treaty with the monster royals, and there's so much going wrong that they don't know where to start. They're having a hard time keeping the city from falling apart as it is. They constantly say things like they're 'making improvements' or 'working towards a resolution,' but you doubt anyone really believed them.

So you're stuck, desperately trying to keep yourself and your cat fed while you try to find an apartment or something to escape to. Family? You have absolutely no idea where they are, and highly doubted they would let you stay for more than five minutes. Friends? There had been Tiffany from work, but she had moved even before the monsters appeared. Other options? Uh... None. 

And thus you were left to stagger home, tired and worn out and scared and jumping at every stray noise. It was so dangerous to be out at night; if you got caught by one of the human gangs, God knows what they'd do. Probably 'give you a warning' for being on 'their terf' at night. If you got caught by the monsters... Honestly, you didn't know. Did they kill people they came across? No one really talked about what happened to who... How were you supposed to know? You had been trying to keep your hands out of all this, aside from the occasional helping of the stray monster when no one was around. 

What? You couldn't just walk past someone in need, especially if that someone was just some helpless monster trying to get by. Mostly it was small stuff, like picking up something they dropped, which they always responded to with skepticism before making a quick escape. 

Poor guys...

You checked your bag again, making sure everything was there. Phone, yes. Notepad, yes. Wallet, yes. Receipts, keys, miscellaneous items, pepper spray, yes. Okay. Deep breaths. You'll be fine.

OH GOD WHAT WAS THAT?

Just a bird. Just a bird. Deep breaths. Walk just a little bit faster. You're fine. Everything will be fine. Almost there. 

What was that...?

You slowed just slightly, feeling your heart in your ribcage. Peering down an alley, your feet suddenly turned to stone and you found yourself gaping stupidly into the darkness. Part of you screamed at you to run. The other, larger part was frozen as horror filled your veins with ice.

A small group of monsters were huddled at the end of the alley, leaning over some crumpled heap on the ground. At least, they looked like monsters. One was too tall and spindly to be human, and one appeared to have... frills where their ears would be? The other was too close to the shadows to make out. The only thing you could see clearly was something liquid and red, smeared against the far wall. Your heart hammered against your ribcage, fingers beginning to tremble, your legs quick to follow. It felt as though they had been turned to jelly. They were murmuring among themselves, and one of them reached out and prodded the heap at their feet, causing an arm to roll away and sprawl across the ground. You sucked in a sharp breath, terror electrifying your skin. 

One of them suddenly looked up and over their shoulder at you, eyes gleaming in the darkness. Your heart lunged to your throat, and it was then that your fight-or-flight instincts kicked in. You spun on your heal, making a break for it and not even bothering to be quiet about. 

"We've got a witness." There was shuffling, followed by pounding footsteps behind you. Something sharply struck your knee, and you felt something give just before you staggered and fell flat on your face, glasses scraping the pavement as your cheeks smeared harshly against the sand. Seriously? That had to happen NOW?! 

You gripped the pavement with your hands, forcing yourself to roll over and into a sitting position, fully ready to get up and make another break for it despite the pain shooting up and down your leg. Upon glancing up, you realized it was no use- they were nearly upon you, looming threateningly above you as you tried to scramble backwards. You began to cry, and instinctively ducked behind your hands, curling into an awkward ball.

"Please, please, please, I'm sorry, please-" Why were you pleading? For your life? For them to let you go? As some sort of apology for running into them at what was clearly not a good time? 

They paused a foot or so away, from what you could see of their shoes. It almost seemed like they were contemplating you. 

"What are we supposed to do with this?"

"They're a witness."

"... Is their leg supposed to look like that? How hard did you hit them? Did you seriously have to break them?" 

"I didn't hit them /that/ hard. Maybe they were already like that."

"Didn't look like it when they were running..."

"Alright, so I might have hurt them. So... What do we do?" 

Silence for a bit. You stayed behind your arms, shaking with fear. Please, please, please, by some miracle, let you go...

"Suppose we should take them back." 

"Alright." 

Your heart dropped, then took refuge in your throat. You peered out at them from behind your hands, hoping with all your being that they would change their minds. Yep, they were monsters; you could see the silhouette of blue skin on the one directly in front of you, and the tall one was ghostly white. The other one was standing just behind them with an oddly relaxed posture. That one stepped forward, raising a hand. 

"sorry, pal." 

Something cracked sharply over your head, and you felt yourself being lifted as stars and darkness invaded your senses. You caught sight of the nonchalant one scooping up your bag before turning to follow whoever had just thrown you over their shoulder; from the sliver of neck you could see it was the blue one.

As ringing filled your ears and you drowned in the darkness, you were faintly aware of the one holding you speaking. "Alright; lets go see Toriel and Asgore and figure just what we're gonna do." 

And, with that, you felt yourself get pushed under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ,,, literally all of my fics have been reader inserts but honestly they're just fun to write and people enjoy them?? Also this one is TOTALLY DIFFERENT!! ,,, it's Mafiatale AU,, or something,, I did not research this AU at all. Is this right??? Or did I absolutely butcher it??
> 
> Sorry this first chapter is so short; the next ones with be longer, I promise!! I hope you enjoy it anyway! Also, do not fret! I know who you were all waiting to see, and your prayers will be answered in the next chapter or so... ;) Mr. Cat will appear very soon.
> 
> ,,, I'm not funny I apologize,,


	2. Does this count as being a hostage?

When you woke, it was to a brightly lit room. Not a room you recognized. You tried to shoot to your feet and jump away from the bed, but your disjointed knee brought you stumbling to stop at the edge of the bed. Adrenaline filled your veins and you glanced around, panicked. 

What...?

Oh, that's right. Monsters, the bloody alleyway, trying to get away to no avail... No wonder your head hurt so much. 

Your sense of panic didn't go away, though a sense of being trapped joined it. You studied the room more closely, actually noticing it for the first time. Wait... Had the /monsters/ really brought you here? This... wasn't at all what you were expecting. 

The bed was large and roomy, draped in a fluffy comforter and large pillows. It looked as though you had been dropped haphazardly there; they hadn't even bothered to take your shoes off. There was a bedside table, a large wardrobe, a table with a mirror, a stool by the door, and what you could only assume was a bathroom. Several large windows lined the wall behind the bed, being the main source of light; based on the creamy yellow color coming through the window, it was late morning. Everything was glowing lovely shade of golds and deep garnets and pale yellows. Even the drapes were of a heavy, deep velvet.

It felt more like a grand guest room than the sort of place for a 'witness' to be kept. 

You sat there, on the edge of the bed, for a long time, waiting for something to happen. It was very quiet. Very still. Almost... tranquil. Even the motes of dust floating in the slanting beams of sunlight seemed relaxed. After a while, you decided there was no harm in looking around.

You could only assume the door was locked, as it was shut and, honestly, these guys weren't idiots, so you didn't want to even bother there. You looked over the table beside the bed first. A lamp, an unplugged alarm clock. Nothing in the drawers beneath those things except a few slips of dusty, blank paper. No pencil.

Well, that was the limit to what you could reach without standing. You grit your teeth, rolling your leg a few times before something snapped sharply, sending a bolt of pain up your leg. Ouch. Well, at lest you could use it without it dislocating entirely now. Just... Not to its full potential. You stood, leaning heavily on your other leg and using the bed for support. Easy does it...

The wardrobe had a mishmash of different sorts of clothes inside, all different kinds, all different sizes. There were a few shirts that could look like a dress on you, a few pairs of shorts and long sweatpants that looked like they might fit you... Nothing of interest. You didn't want to go around wearing their clothes, even if your own were smudged with mud and sand. 

The table had a few more loose pieces of paper scattered atop it, but still no pencil. There was a comb in one of the drawers, but that was it. And even the comb was covered in dust! Had this room ever been used? 

Alright, bathroom. Hopefully they'd have a first aid kit... It was fairly large, at least. A bathtub-shower complex took up one wall, a rack of towels, soaps, rags and a small bottle of shampoo beside it. There was a large sink directly to the left of the door, a small bottle of hand soap perched on the edge. Under the sink was a bottle of glass cleaner, bleach, and toilet cleaner. No first aid kit. Damn it. You really had to pee, but... You wanted to keep an eye on the door. How embarrassing would it be if they came to check on you or something when you were on the toilet? Not worth it.

It seemed your bag wasn't anywhere to be found. You supposed thinking it might be somewhere had been an impossible dream, but it didn't help you from feeling even more hopeless.

Okay, might as well look at the windows, right? They were shut and locked, but it was hard to know where you were; a large tree obscured the view. It looked like you were on the first or second floor of some large building; you'd heard of an abandoned, unfinished mansion on the outer reaches of town when you were kid. Were the monsters using that as their hiding place? It made sense, seeing as most people forgot it even existed. There had even been rumors of it having a basement of catacombs where murderers lived when they weren't out killing. It sounded too ridiculous to be real, any of it. 

It seemed perfect for a large community of monsters who were looking to keep on the down low.

You sat and waited for a while, then got up and paced for a bit, which was hard to do on only one leg. After what felt an eternity, you went into the bathroom and washed the dirt off your face. You pulled your glasses off, letting out a small noise of distress. It seemed that last night, in falling while trying to escape, you had scratched your glasses badly against the pavement. Once you got out of this mess, you'd have to order a new prescription. Poop. 

You got the sand off them the best you could before going back to wander back and forth in front of the windows. As you came toward the bedside table, you realized there was something there that hadn't been there before. A simple, clear glass of water. 

Huh? You shot a look around the room, half expecting someone to suddenly be standing in the corner of the room, watching you as you lowered your glasses to the table top. But there was no one? You were sure you hadn't heard the door open, either. You sniffed it suspiciously before taking a sip. 

What? You were parched, but you didn't want to be drugged. And also starving. ... Could you smell if water was drugged? You seriously had no idea.

At least they were decent enough to leave a glass of water... But, as the day wore on, you began to get worried about something else. You continually glanced out the window, tracking the sun's path across the sky. Snickers hadn't been fed since yesterday morning. Was he okay? 

After a while of watching the sun dip closer and closer to the horizon, you groaned quietly, scratching your hands across your face in frustration. Looks like you had no choice. You stood up and shuffled uneasily toward the door, leaning towards it before holding very still. 

Yes! There was someone out there, you could hear them shuffling and snuffling and whatever else kinds of things people did when they stood guard outside of doors. You hesitated, hesitated again, almost backed out, then gently tapped the door with your knuckles. Silence. Oh, please don't say you had to knock harder...

"Human?" You jumped as a rather grouchy voice came from the other side of the door, quickly backing away, 100% ready to back out and go hide under the bed. You couldn't do this! But... Snickers.

"Uh, y-yes."

Another long pause. 

"What is it?" 

Your hands were shaking nervously, and your legs were trembling. "Uh, um... I'm s-sorry to bother you, but... I... I have a cat, and he hasn't been fed since y-yesterday..." 

It was very quiet for a long time. You were about to give up on the measly scrap of hope you had conjured up, when,

"Okay." 

You froze, staring at the door. Quiet, muffled footsteps paced away. By some slim chance, would they actually care enough to feed him? Well, you could always hope. 

 

The empty, quiet room was beginning to get to you. The sun was touching the horizon now, casting the green leaves in a hazy, golden blanket. The shadows cast by the ruffling leaves danced across the floor like some kind of beautiful, misty ballet. How long had it been since you had talked to the monster through the door? An hour? Two? It was hard to tell. The alarm clock, once you had plugged it in, simply blinked at you, asking you to input the time. You would if you could, mister alarm clock. You would if you could.

You were picking at the threads of the comforter when there was a noise from behind the door. Footsteps. Then, a pause. You straightened, eyeing the door nervously. There was some shuffling. Then the door clicked, opening a sliver. Snickers was pushed in through the door, digging his heels in as the fur rose along his spine nervously. The door shut and clicked again.

You sat up, watching in disbelief as Snickers glanced around, eyes round as he crouched low to the floor before crawling under the bed. You lowered yourself down beside the bed carefully, peering under at him and extending a hand out towards him. He sniffed your fingers gingerly. 

"It's okay, Snicks. It's just me. You're okay. You'll be okay." You brushed the top of his head with your fingers before pulling away. He would calm down in a bit; being catnapped wasn't exactly a normal thing for him, but he was resilient. 

The monsters had... gotten your cat for you. From your apartment. How did they know where you lived? How had they gotten in?! But, really, why had they gone out of their way to go through whatever it took to get him, just because you said he hadn't been fed in a while? It almost seemed... kind. Sure, they had kidnapped you, but the one who had knocked you out had even apologized before doing it. Heck, they even seemed confused as to what to do with you! Even putting you in this room seemed more like they didn't have any idea what else to do.

You'd always hoped they'd just been normal guys doing what they had to to get by. It was beginning to seem like more of a reality than you thought. 

That didn't make you any less scared, though. 

You were watching the sun sink behind the leaves when the door clicked open again. You glanced over your shoulder, fear spiking up your spine. All that ended up happening was what looked like a fuzzy hand pushed a plate, covered in food, in through the gap of the door. A small bowl followed it before the door shut and clicked again.

You tiptoed over, kneeling on your better leg to pick them up. It was clear the smaller bowl was meant for Snickers; it looked like finely cut up pieces of fish, and smelled of it, too. Upon glancing back, you could see a very whiskery snout poking out from under the bed, whiskers twitching as he sniffed. You smiled, sliding it in his direction. 

The plate was covered in... Spaghetti? It didn't really look that bad, at least. There was a roll accompanying it. Huh. They actually gave you a meal. As kind as the gesture was, and as much as a part of you would like to wolf it down, you still kind of felt like you might be sick. 

You picked at it for a while, tearing off small bits of the roll and taking about three noodles at a time. The spaghetti was okay. A little too garlicky, in your opinion, but okay, and the roll could have used some butter, but you still felt like you might be the slightest bit sick. After a while, you took a peek to see how Snickers had found the fish. At least half of it was missing. You smiled, faintly comforted by his presence. Being so stressed, waiting for the worst to happen, was tiring, but you couldn't imagine sleeping any time soon. 

After a while, you put what was left- more than half, which made you feel somewhat guilty, to be honest- on the stool beside the door. As the sun disappeared behind the horizon, you began to pace beside the windows again. As much as your leg hurt, you couldn't stand sitting still for more than five minutes at this point. Snickers came creeping out from under the bed, sniffing tensely at the wardrobe and table leg, stomach practically touching the ground. He touched you with his tail as he passed.

There was a knock on the door, loud in the quiet atmosphere, making you jump. Snickers bolted under the bed again. 

"knock knock."

You stared at the door, holding your breath. It was quiet for a long time. Then, there was a chuckle, muffled by the wood of the door. 

"that's your cue to say 'who's there.'" 

You frowned, confused. Was this guy for real, or was he just messing with you...? It was quiet for a bit, then you answered, voice shaking and small.

"W-who's there...?" 

"a broken pencil." 

Honestly, what in the world? Of all things you had expected, knock knock jokes weren't on the list. Surely, this had to be some attempt to just confuse you or mess with you for someone's amusement. 

"A-broken pencil... who?" 

"never mind, it's pointless." 

...? 

...???

Oh, you got it. That had been a legit knock joke. You stared at the door as though waiting for some kind of explanation. The door offered none. Instead, there was a muffled chuckle. It broke off after a moment.

"okay, but i'm seriously coming in." 

You backed up against the window, hearing the door click before swinging open fully this time. There was a disgruntled, cat-like monster standing opposite the door, frowning to himself. From what you could see, your room was on a hallway covered in similar doors. This place was looking pretty enormous. That was... oddly daunting.

The monster that stepped into the room, however, looked very relaxed. He looked like he'd be more at home in lazy clothes, like sweat pants or a hoodie, than a button up shirt and sharp, scuffed shoes. He almost seemed familiar. Was he one of the monsters from last night...? 

Also, he was a skeleton. You could feel your heart thumping quietly against your ribs as he grinned at you, eyes glinting like fireflies in their sockets. How could there be shadows under his eyes if he was a skeleton...? 

The same way he looked chubby, you supposed. He was a monster. A monster that looked like a skeleton, but a monster. The thought did nothing to calm your jittering nerves. 

He eyed you a moment, then turned to the stool beside the door. He picked the plate up and passed it to the monster in the hallway before closing the door and sitting on the stool himself, resting his elbows on his knees. 

That's all he did. Sit there and watch you. It was unnerving, especially as the light disappeared and the shadows lengthened. You clung to the window frame, shakily meeting his gaze from the farthest point away from him as possible. After what felt like an eternity, he chuckled, looking amused. 

"you can sit down, pal. i can see you even if you aren't moving." 

You quickly dodged your gaze away, clutching your elbows as you sidled sideways toward the bed. "S-sorry." 

He chuckled again, but looked almost confused as you shuffled onto the comforter, leaning against the wall after clicking the lamp on. He stared at you for a while, then leaned against the wall and stared off into space, clearly thinking. Part of you wondered what he was thinking about. 

You flinched when his eyes slid over to look at you again. It was kind of eerie, that smile. Did he ever not smile?

"you like the food?" 

You frowned, confused again. Small talk? After a pause, you nodded slightly, uncertain.

"cool. Papyrus will be glad." 

Silence for a while. He shifted, lifting his arms to cross them behind his head.

"heard you've got a cat?" 

You nodded. When he raised his eyebrows, it took you a moment to realize he must have been wondering where he was. You pointed to the bed. He looked confused a moment, then seemed to realize what you meant. He nodded as though understanding why your cat would decide to take shelter under the bed. 

"cool." 

A pause.

"what's his name?" 

You swallowed the lump in your throat. "S-Snickerdoodle." You quickly avoided his gaze when he chuckled, embarrassed. 

"sweet."

...

Was that a joke? You glanced at him, confused again. He snickered, grin slightly broader. You avoided his gaze again, staring at your stained jeans. An idea came to you. You went to speak, then stopped. Hesitated, then coughed slightly. He raised an eyebrow at you, and you nearly chickened out. 

"U-um. Do you- do you have a f-first aid kit?" 

His raised eyebrow stared where it was, but his eye sockets narrowed the slightest bit. "what for? didn't hurt ya, did we?"

"N-no. I... When I tripped last night, m-my knee... The knee cap... It... It needs a brace." You stumbled over the explanation. It was hard enough explaining to people why you couldn't lift anything over fifty pounds; how were you supposed to tell a monster that your joints sometimes were sensitive and slid in and out of place if you exerted yourself too much? 

He seemed to contemplate you a moment, then shrugged and stood up, opening the door. He had a quick, quiet word with the monster waiting there, then sat again, door left slightly ajar. When you met his gaze, he narrowed his eyes at you as if daring you to make a break for it. You stayed where you were, rubbing your sore knee. 

After a minute, the monster behind the door passed a square, white box to the skeleton before the door shut again. He tossed it in your direction and it slid to a stop on the comforter. You leaned over and shakily picked it up, popping the lid.

"Th-thank you." 

He didn't respond. You scrounged around inside the box for a minute, eventually coming up with only a roll of gauze. You frowned at it helplessly. It would have to do. 

You straightened your leg out on the comforter, gently the knee cap with your fingers before rolling up your pant leg. It would be easier to do with them off, but... Nope. That's not happening. 

It took a minute to work carefully around your knee. Normally you had your standard brace, or a doctor or an extra pair of hands to help you, so doing it with gauze and just one pair of hands was... difficult. After a few moments, however, you uneasily tested it and decided it would do, if only temporarily. When you put the gauze back in the box, shut it and turned back to the skeleton, you found him studying you. You froze, having almost forgotten he was there for a moment. 

There was a pause, and you put the box back on the comforter and pushed it in his direction before rolling your pant leg back down. For a while, it was silent. Snickers came crawling out from under the bed, eyed the skeleton uneasily, then hopped onto the bed to huddle against your side. You smiled, gently smoothing the fur of his spine with your palm. His tabby-splotched fur twitched under your hand.

"sorry 'bout last night." You glanced up, meeting the skeleton's gaze in surprise. His expression hadn't changed at all. In a way, he didn't look sorry in the slightest. He shrugged. "monster's gotta do what a monster's gotta do."

You ducked your head, tucking your feet closer to yourself. "I-I'm sorry, too."

Quiet. You wouldn't meet his gaze. Finally, you worked up the courage to speak again.

"H-how long am I going to be here...?"

He shrugged. "dunno. you're gonna have to see the king, which will take a while, then we're gonna have to be sure you won't spill the beans to anyone after we do let you go, which we may never be sure of, then there's the business of getting you out of here in a way that ensures you won't know our location..." He shrugged again. "it's gonna be a long and messy process."

"Oh."

Silence.

"T-thank you. To whoever got Snickers for me. I-I feel better... knowing he's here." 

You saw him nod out of the corner your eye. It was very dark outside. 

"My... My name is (Y/N)."

"i know." You eyed him, suddenly afraid. He looked faintly amused at your reaction. "we found your wallet in your bag." Oh. He was quiet for a while, closing his eyes. Then, "name's Sans." 

Sans... the skeleton. Who liked jokes. Could this day get any weirder?

"I-it's nice to meet you." What else were you supposed to say?! You didn't want to be rude! Despite the whole... kidnapping thing, they'd been fairly kind. 

He opened an eye, looking at you in what almost seemed to be surprise. Then, he laughed. "thanks. and, uh, same." 

It was quiet for a while. He continued to watch you through one eye. After another eternity, he chuckled.

"you know, you can sleep. i'm not gonna kill you while you're out." 

You brought your better knee up to your chest, smoothing Snickers' fur with the tips of your fingers. He eyed you for a while, then shrugged and closed his own eyes. You kept your eyes on him, your queasy stomach keeping you awake. Eventually, you ended up falling asleep with your back against the wall, head resting your knee. 

Your back was going to hurt like hell when you woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ,, two chapters in one day because this fic won't leave my head,, you're welcome(?)
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter is awkward,, I'm still trying to figure out how to do this thing lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!! ((I feel the instinct to put 'Have a prompt? Put it in the comments!' But,, I can't do that,, yet?? I honestly have no idea what I'm doing))


	3. Day Two: there is more than one skeleton

When you woke yet again in the strange guest room, it was to a certain skeleton standing a few feet from the bed, steadily meeting your gaze. You jumped so hard your head struck the wall behind you, making you wince. When you sat up, clutching the back of your head, Snickers, apparently just as startled as you, jumped away from where he had been curled up near your chest to duck under the bed. 

The skeleton chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets. "morning, sleeping beauty."

You ducked your head, quickly backing up against the wall in the same way you had been last night. Had you lied down at some point during the night? "S-sorry." You tried to hide your burning face as you hastily ran a hand over your eyes. He chuckled again, but wandered toward the door. 

"you've been sleepin' for a while, not that i can blame you. breakfast might be cold, though." He leaned against the wall beside the door, keeping an eye on you as you nervously put your legs over the side of the bed. 

You took a swallow of water from the glass sitting on the bedside table, glancing at the plate sitting there. Eggs, bacon, a slice of toast... You were starving once again, but your stomach was still forming uncomfortable knots and you really had to pee. You staggered to your feet, nervous of the gauze around your knee, and shuffled to the windows. Flickering behind the leaves, you could see the sun sitting just above the edge of the horizon. What was a monster's idea of early...? Putting your glasses on for a moment, through the scuffed vision you could see red and orange haze settling around the glowing demon ball of light.

"It's going to rain today." You ended up saying it without thinking about it, as you normally informed Snickers what the weather would be that day when you first woke up every morning. When you realized what had come out of your mouth, you glanced over your shoulder to see if the skeleton- Sans- had even heard you. He had. He was eyeing you almost suspiciously. 

"... okay." He shrugged, checked a watch on his wrist, and pushed himself off the wall before putting a hand on the knob. "another monster should be here in an hour or two to watch over you. feel free to do... whatever humans do in the morning." 

He lifted a hand in a halfhearted wave before stepping out into the hallway and closing the door. While you weren't at all used to his presence- or this situation at all, really- you were sad, in a way, to see him go. At least with him in the room, you had the ability to talk to someone if you wanted to. Which you didn't, but at least you had the chance to! 

You picked over the eggs, pinched a corner off the toast, downed the glass of water, paced a little bit, then noticed that, beside the door, there were two shallow dishes- one full of water, the other empty- and a box lined with paper. You smiled slightly. At least they were looking out for Snickers. 

You eventually shuffled into the bathroom and tried to figure out the shower. It took you a while to figure how to get the water warm, and during that time you aired out your clothes and tried to dust off the worst of the dirt still scraped across the front of your shirt. When you edged into the shower, it was a nice relief to feel the warm wash of water easing the tenseness of your muscles. You eventually slid to sit on the floor, the urge to cry suddenly overwhelming. At least in the shower, as cheesy as it sounded, no one could see your tears.

 

Sans pushed the large oak door open, stepping inside and kicking it shut behind him. Frisk glanced up from their place on Asgore's lap, then slid down and ran up to him, lifting their hands to him. He hoisted them up into his arms with a huff of laughter.

"hey there, kiddo." 

Toriel glanced up from her place by the bookshelf, wringing her hands. "Ah, Sans! Good morning."

"morning, Tori." Sans lowered the kid to the ground, putting his hands back in his pockets. 

"How are they? The human." Toriel's soft face creased worriedly. Even in times like this, she was still her old mothering self. 

"awake." 

"Are they... fairing well?" Toriel pressed, pawing at the front of her dress nervously. Sans shrugged.

"seem pretty shaken up, not that i can blame them. pretty skittish, even for a human. thanked us for getting their cat."

"Oh, poor dear..." Toriel sighed, then smiled reassuringly down at Frisk as they tugged on the end of her dress. 

"asked how long they'd be here." 

Asgore sighed, running a hand over his face. "This is a mighty fine mess we've gotten into, haven't we? Not just this human, but..." He cleared his throat when Toriel shot him a warning look. "What did you tell them?"

"a while."

"Suppose it is best not to get their hopes up." 

"how much you got on them?" 

Toriel sighed. "About the same as yesterday. They do not seem a threat..." 

Something unsaid lingered in the air awhile. Frisk walked over to do door and glanced back once before ducking out. Sans scratched the back of his neck. 

"... What do you think, Sans?"

He shrugged. "they've got some pretty low LV, but that's not a lot to go off of. don't know if they're just trying to not make us angry, but they were pretty polite and docile, considering. seem pretty scared. wouldn't make a definitive judgment on just that, though." 

Asgore nodded absently, seemingly lost in thought. "I suppose if they are going to be here for... a while, they might as well be comfortable. Innocent until proven guilty, and whatnot. I believe you were one of the ones to find their home and get their cat?"

Sans nodded. 

"Well, then, I request that go back and get whatever belongings they need. Clothes and the like. I would also ask you not to go looking through their belongings looking for information. It will only come to that as a last resort. I do not want to invade their privacy, as it were. I'm planning on bringing them down here as soon as I've got the time." 

Sans nodded, pushing himself off the wall. "sure thing, boss." 

Toriel put a hand on his shoulder as he passed, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He gave her a calm grin before stepping back out of the large office. 

 

Eventually, you stepped out of the bathroom, hair damp against the back of your neck. Snickers was sitting on the window sill, pawing at a bug as it fluttered back and forth in front of his nose. You smiled softly, hobbling over and gently touching the back of his neck. He jumped, then lifted his head and made a soft squeak at you. 

"Hey, Snicks. How are you, buddy? Doing okay?" 

He bumped his head against your elbow, making a soft clicking noise. You lifted him into your arms, making him run his head along your chin. You laughed.

"I'm glad you're doing okay. I'm still kinda... freaked out."

He purred softly, pawing the front of your shirt and pricking your skin with his claws. You sat heavily on the bed, smiling as he tumbled out of your lap and rolled around on the ruffled comforter. You touched the fluffy, white fur of his stomach, to which he responded by grabbing your hand and sniffing it intently. 

You played with him for a while, rolling him back and forth while he gently bit your fingers and batted at your hands. You felt tired, incredibly nervous, and incredibly helpless, but at least Snickers was there to lift your spirits. He grabbed your hand with his front paws, beating it softly with his back ones as he hovered his teeth above your fingertips, making you laugh. 

"GREETINGS, HUMAN!" 

You jumped an estimated six inches off the bed, skin prickling with sudden goosebumps and shoulders high around your neck. Snickers scrambled off the bed and shot under the wardrobe. You quickly backed up against the wall, getting whiplash as you hurriedly looked to the door. 

"Ah, apologies, human! I did not mean to startle you!" 

The skeleton quickly stepped into the room, gently closing the door behind him. He was... certainly not Sans. He was very tall- a head or so taller than you, at least- with oddly elegant arms and legs, and the suit he wore complimented him well. He grinned at you, which somehow seemed much more friendly than Sans' own smile. He stepped carefully up to the end of the bed, eyeing you... curiously? 

"Hello, human! How are you?"

You blinked up at him stupidly, swallowing thickly. "I-I'm ...okay." 

He clasped his hands together cheerfully. "Ah! Good! I was afraid you'd be ill or upset that we brought you here! I am glad to see that is not the case!" He drummed his fingers together, clearly not planning on being as quiet as Sans. "I am also hoping Sans did not ruin your day with his terrible jokes?"

So, bad jokes was a thing Sans was known for? Maybe once you got over the whole kidnapping thing, you could find yourself enjoying them. You happened to be a fan of 'so bad it's good.' You scratched nervously at your elbow, glancing around a moment in an attempt to think up something to say. "N-no...?"

"Ah! Good! He is infamous for happening to do that, especially to myself..." He grumbled a moment, then beamed at you again. "How rude of me! I am the great Papyrus!"

Papyrus... Papyrus... Yes, Sans had mentioned a Papyrus. Something about the cooking? This guy seemed nice enough. Why not? "I-I liked the spaghetti. Last night? It was- it was nice." 

His hands flew to his cheeks and he looked like you'd just made his entire year. "Wowie! A genuine compliment?! You liked my spaghetti?!" When you nodded, he put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Surely, you must be a good human! No doubt the king will let you go in no time!" 

You blinked, suddenly hopeful. This guy was actually kind... up-lifting. Genuine, maybe? Part of you wouldn't mind having this guy over Sans. The other part was still scared. And that part took up about 99% of your being. 

You glanced at the wardrobe as Snickers poked his head out, sniffed furiously, then ducked back under when Papyrus followed your gaze. The skeleton blinked (somehow??) then walked over before kneeling to peer at him. You reached out a hand, wanting to say something about how he was just stressing him out more.

"Hello there, small feline! What are you doing under there? The great Papyrus will not hurt you!"

"P-please, don't." Papyrus glanced back at you, tilting his head. You shrank back, pressing yourself as flat as possible against the wall. "H-he's just scared. If you corner him like that, h-he'll just get even more scared. He doesn't know where we are, or why, and... He doesn't... He's afraid." You hugged your knees, avoiding the skeleton's gaze. He straightened a moment later, stepping away from the wardrobe.

"Ah, I see! Of course! Apologies, small feline! I did not mean to make you more scared!" 

You thought you saw him smile out of the corner your eye, but you stayed where you were, huddled up in a small, anxious ball. You studied the threads that made up your socks when you felt his gaze on you. The floorboards creaked, and part of you hoped he had sat in the same place that Sans had the night before. You jumped, then hugged your knees tighter when a hand suddenly fell upon your shoulder. You tried to steady your breathing, staring intently at a loose thread near one of your toes.

"Human..." 

You shifted your feet like a kid expecting their parents to give them a very loud, very stern talking to. For a moment, you almost thought he sounded... sad?

"You do not have to be afraid. We won't hurt you." 

You glanced up after a moment of hesitation. He was studying you with a look that didn't suit his face. Pity, perhaps? Guilt? It was hard to say. He lifted his hand from your shoulder and smiled at you rather kindly. He held out a deck of cards.

"Do you happen to enjoy card games?"

You glanced at the cards, then back up at him. "... Okay." 

You shuffled over and he sat across from you, quickly shuffling the deck with nimble hands. You had to sit awkwardly, one leg tucked close to you, the other spread out at an angle, but he either didn't notice or didn't care. He flashed you an award winning smile as he apparently finished shuffling the cards.

"Alrighty then, human! What game do you want to play first?"

 

You were playing card games

With a skeleton 

Who also just so happened to be one of your captors. 

What even is your life right now.

Papyrus was proving to be a cheerful, child-like character, and after a few hours of playing card games, you could feel your spirits lifting. After the first hour ticked past, you found yourself smiling and laughing along with him. It almost felt as though you were talking to a friend rather than someone you should be afraid of. In many ways, monsters were proving to be kinder than humans. You felt more accepted sitting beside this seven foot something skeleton than you often did beside your own species.

What even.

"Aha! But you are mistaken! I happen to have a full hand of aces, thus trumping your kings!" Papyrus tossed his head triumphantly, making you smile, amused. "Now I know that this unceremonious defeat must have left you feeling down, but are you feeling up for another round?"

"Okay." You smiled, feeling more relaxed than you had since you woke up in this place as he scooped up the cards and shuffled them carefully. Movement caught your gaze, and you turned to watch Snickers ever so slowly crawl out from under the wardrobe. "Hey, Snicks! Come on out, buddy."

Papyrus looked up, then followed your gaze. His eyes brightened when Snickers met his eyes, freezing in place. You patted your leg, and he slunk carefully, tensely over and hopped us beside you, ducking behind your back. You smiled, touching his tail. His nose touched your fingers a moment later and you gently pulled him out for behind you and into your lap.

"Wowie!" Papyrus reached out a hand, then stopped, glancing up as if for your approval. When you nodded, he grinned and gently touched one of Snickers' ears. Snickers flinched, then tentatively sniffed the long, boney fingers. After a moment, he gave his silent permission for the skeleton to pet him. Papyrus looked like he'd just been told he'd be getting what he always wanted for Christmas. 

After a few minutes, Snickers pretty much overruled your game and spread out over the bedspread, bearing his fluffy stomach for a good scratch. You showed Papyrus how he liked to be gently jostled from side to side in a form of play, then started taking turns having your fingers being batted at and lightly bitten. Papyrus had a funny laugh, a sort of 'nyeh heh heh' that you found oddly charming. For a moment, you could forget about the chaos happening outside this place and the fact that you were a hostage inside. 

Then the door swung open and Snickers made a quick, scrambling escape behind the curtains. Papyrus blinked after him, then twisted to peer over his shoulder. You huddled backwards, half afraid of whoever was there. 

Sans blinked at you and Papyrus sitting on the bed, cards scattered between you, almost looking surprised. Then his usual(?) rather mellow grin took hold as he shuffled into the room, a bag over his shoulder. He dropped it beside the wardrobe then came and stood near the bed, glancing briefly at the cards scattered everywhere. 

"heya."

"Sans! You startled the human's feline just when he came out to have tremendous amounts of fun with the great Papyrus!" Papyrus huffed, looking cheated. You smiled meekly, backing up against the wall once again. Sans glanced at you briefly, hands in his pockets. 

"sorry, bro. didn't mean to rattle his bones." He grinned broader when Papyrus slapped a hand to his forehead, groaning.

'Bro'? These guys were siblings? 

Well, that certainly explained a lot.

"you havin' fun with the human?" 

You frowned, but looked away. No need to talk about you like you weren't there.

"Yes! We played many card games, and though I naturally won most of the time, they were a good sport about losing! Their feline is very soft, Sans! Have you had a chance to pet him yet?" Sans shook his head, though didn't look like he minded in the slightest. "Well, perhaps next time, if you didn't barge in so rudely, he would be kind enough to declare you worthy of his attention!" Papyrus tossed his head, making you snicker. Sans shrugged, glancing at you again. 

"that'd be clawsome." Sans chuckled when Papyrus made a noise of frustration.

"You and your terrible puns!" 

You drew your knees up to your chest- or, one of them. The other was still sore. Papyrus glanced at you, smile dropping just slightly. You avoided his gaze, wrapping your arms around your leg. For a moment, it was quiet. 

"ey, Papyrus. why don't you go get the human something to eat." 

Papyrus jumped to his feet, suddenly looking determined. "But of course! Nothing less than the best for our... guest!" 

And, with that, you were left alone with the shorter skeleton yet again. You stared at your socks for a minute.

"got you some stuff. some of it might be damp. you were right about the rain." 

You glanced at the bag, nodding in silent thanks. It was quiet for a bit again. Then, you nudged one of the cards with your foot.

"Is he- is he your brother?"

"yep. pretty cool, right?"

"Y-yeah. He's... nice." 

It took you a minute to glance up again. When you did, Sans was studying with that same scrutinizing look as before. You realized he must have been trying to gage just how trustworthy you were, whether or not you were being genuine. You felt a familiar churning in your gut, suddenly feeling guilty for all the havoc your kind had wreaked upon his. 

"I-I'm sorry." 

He breathed a snort of laughter, breaking his gaze away as he headed for the door. "you sure do say that a lot."

"S-sorry. I mean, sorry. Sorry. I mean- I-I'll just... Shut up now." You buried your face behind your knee when he laughed, though you saw him shake his head out of the corner of your eye.

"see ya in a bit." 

The door opened, then shut again. It was silent for a long time before Snickers came slithering out from behind the curtains, sniffing curiously. He rubbed his pale tabby fur all over your pants, making you smile. You touched his ear, making him let out a quiet squeak. 

 

That night, Sans did come back to apparently watch you. You worked up the nerve to sit in the center of the bed rather than huddled in the corner. You stared at one another for a bit before he decided to... take a nap. Or something.

"S-so... You l-like jokes?" 

He opened one eye. "who doesn't."

Close enough. "Uh... Hm... Oh, hey! K-knock knock." 

He raised an eyebrow at you. "who's there?"

"D-Doris." 

"... Doris who?"

"Door is locked, so I had to knock." You tried your best to give him a smile, but it was hard when all he did was blankly stare at you for a few seconds. Relief washed over you when he laughed under his breath, closing his eyes again.

"not bad. not sure why you suddenly wanted to tell me a joke, but not bad."

You shrugged, watching as Snickers crawled out of hiding to sniff Sans' shoe. "I-I just want people to be happy. Y-ya know? If jokes are what makes you happy, then..." You shrugged helplessly, suddenly embarrassed. Why had you even opened your mouth? 

When you glanced up again, he was studying you in the way he always did. You ducked your head, suddenly afraid his gaze could pierce right through you and read the fine lines of your soul. After a moment, he chuckled. 

"whatever you say, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, things will actually happen soon! I swear!! ,, these first few chapters are mostly set-up, honestly? I still have no idea what I'm doing,, like I have no idea if this is even good at this point,, 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!! Stick with me, things will happen eventually 


	4. Day Twelve: King of monsters is a scary teddy bear

At the ending of nearly two weeks, you found yourself used to your new environment. 

You and Papyrus had played just about every card game known to man, you had counted the amount the of nicks the windowsill had accumulated over time, and Snickers had grown incredibly bored. 

He had come to either sitting on the windowsill and staring off into the distance for long periods of time or batting a small, jingling ball that one of the monsters had given him around the room (usually in the middle of the night). You felt bad, but you didn't want to bother the monsters with requests of letting him roam around a bit. They had enough problems as it was. 

You and Papyrus had become friends, as odd as it was. He had been the first to declare so, on the third day he came to check on you and play a game of go-fish. You learned that he had previously desired to be a member of the royal guard ("But this will do!"), that he had an affinity for puzzles and word searches, donned himself a five-star chef, and that he had even surpassed his teacher, someone by the name of 'Undyne', and that he was very fond of his brother ("Despite his insistent pun-making!"). He was apparently on speaking terms with the king, Asgore, and often told you that said King was 'looking forward to getting a chance to speak with you!' which did nothing calm your nerves every time he said it. 

You told him that, while you weren't great, you had a bit of cooking experience yourself, though you were marginally better at baking. You told him Snickers was roughly three years old. You told him his cooking was nice. You told him he was very good at card games. You told him Snickers liked him very much (which he did). You even told him you liked his brother, which was still more or less up for debate. You weren't entirely sure what to make of the shorter skele.

You liked to see him happy. It made you feel happy in return. People had often told you your good nature would be the end of you in a world like this, that you would end up giving a murderer second chances at the rate you were going. You tried to shrug it off. Better to see the best in people than to assume the worst! Besides, it was just so... fulfilling to see others calm and satisfied and content and happy. If you could capture that feeling and keep it locked up tight inside your chest, warm and fuzzy and thrilling all at once, you would do it in a heartbeat. There was nothing better than making other people happy, especially if that someone really deserved it.

A few times, you'd been watched by some grumpy cat monster. He didn't have a lot to say, though sometimes he'd vent to you about his girl troubles or work troubles, and sometimes he'd play with Snickers, bouncing the jingling ball he'd given him around the room and smiling when he bounced around after it. He was nice, if a bit stressed and tired. He always seemed to feel a little better after venting his woes to you. You didn't exactly have the best advice, but you tried. He seemed to appreciate it.

Your relationship with Sans was... iffy. He always opened with a knock-knock joke, then just sat there and stared at you for a few hours. Sometimes he'd crack a joke, which you would nervously laugh at to please him, other times he'd... fall asleep, assumably. He didn't seem much of a talker. He never seemed to directly answer any of your questions. He made you feel very small. Dirty, in a way. Like you'd done something very bad and he knew every bit of it. 

Unfortunately, more often than not, he was the one watching you. 

If you were counting correctly, it was the twelfth day. It was very warm and still inside the room that morning. Snickers was sitting beside the door, eyeing it intently. For a minute, you wondered what he was waiting for. Then you heard footsteps, and watched him tense. The door clicked and he huddled close to the ground. The door swung open, and he tried to squeeze past whoever was standing on the other side.

"whoa there, buddy. not so fast." 

Sans' foot suddenly barred his exit, and Snickers, apparently losing his meager courage, scooted backwards and tiptoed away shamefully. Sans watched after him with a careful eye as he stepped into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. He put a small plate on the end of the bed, still watching Snickers, then sat in his usual spot.

"what's with him?" 

You followed his gaze as Snickers stretched and spread out luxuriously across the windowsill. "He's bored, I guess. Not a lot f-for a cat to explore in here." You carefully leaned forward, grabbing the plate and lifting it into your lap. It looked like a cinnamon bun... with rabbit ears? "W-what's this?"

"cinnabunny. group downstairs decided to spice it up a bit. used to make it all the time." Sans leaned back, closing one eye, eyeing Snickers a moment longer before closing the other. 

"Oh. Send them my thanks." 

He grunted, apparently having put all the effort he could muster for the day into that short explanation. You carefully bit an ear off the cinnabunny, humming at the warm, almost fuzzy taste. It felt oddly like home. The sort of feeling sitting on a sofa, wrapped in a blanket, drinking a cup of hot chocolate on a cold afternoon gave you. 

You sat in relative quiet for a while, practically feeling the time grind slowly past. That was another thing; while Papyrus would play simple games with you to pass the time, with Sans, there was nothing. Just the silence. It made you incredibly bored. It was almost more than you could bear. 

You were counting the stitches on your second favorite shirt when there was a quiet knock on the door. Sans glanced at it in what could only be confusion, then leaned over and opened it without standing. He was careful to keep an eye on where Snickers was all the while.

"what's up?"

There was murmuring from the other side of the door. Sans' expression shifted to faint surprise. 

"really?"

More murmuring. Sans nodded, standing.

"on our way, then." He pushed the door mostly closed, turning to look at you. "alright. king's found some time and wants to see ya." 

You blinked. "N-now?"

"yep. come on." 

You stumbled off the bed, suddenly nervous and squeamish and would it be rude to throw up a cinnabunny in the presence of royalty? You slid your glasses on, dusted yourself off the best you could, then turned to Snickers. He squeaked quietly at you when you patted him gently.

"I'll be right back, Snicks. Don't worry."

It was hard to read Sans' expression as he pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. He waited for you to join him, then waved you to follow as the cat monster from before- Burger... Something- closed the door behind you. 

The hallway was long and was shadowed a deep maroon color. A few dusty paintings popped up here and there as Sans led you down the pathway, most of pots of flowers or scenery, though one seemed to be a person whose face you couldn't make out. Your footsteps echoed up and down the corridor, the high ceiling giving it a feeling of emptiness. 

It seemed to stretch on forever until Sans turned and stepped through a doorway and led you down the steps you found there. There was a window high above your head, but it looked like a vine had raveled its way up the building, anyway. Dust bunnies had collected in the corners of the steps. 

The stairwell opened into another hallway, this one much more open and airy and used. It was clear this had to be the main floor, as the small sounds of monsters speaking to one another bounced back and forth across the hall. 

You passed a few closed doors, then a large, double-door frame caught your eye. It was wide open, and, when you glanced inside as you passed, you found yourself drawn to a stop. 

It was a living room, an enormous one, at that. There were several sofas and plush chairs scattered throughout, most of them occupied. Several large dogs were sitting in a big open space, tossing cards back in forth in some game you didn't recognize. Uno, maybe? Several frogs and fluttering, timid monsters were reading in a huddle in the corner nearest you. A deer and several bird-like monsters were taking up one large sofa, murmuring to one another in friendly tones. Sometimes, one bird would tell a joke, and another, melt-y one would laugh weakly. Two bulky monsters, one with... rabbit ears?, the other with frills were sitting on a sofa near a window, and at one point the frilled one leaned over and nuzzled the other's cheek, making him abashed. 

Despite the family-like atmosphere, something akin to hopelessness hung in the air.

"ahem."

You snapped out of your trance, ripping your gaze away to look back up at the one who was leading you. There was an unreadable look in his eyes, but all he did was nod down the hallway. 

"you done sight seein'?"

You ducked your head, quickly pacing to catch up with him. You continued on in silence, passing what looked like a library, a room with a ton of windows and even more potted plants, most of which were yellow, and a large kitchen, where several fuzzy, rabbit-like monsters were talking amongst themselves as they made what could only be dinner. 

Finally, you came to stop in front of what could only be an office. Sans paused a moment, staring at the doors, then knocked. There was rustling, then a booming, "Come in!"

You ducked your head as Sans pushed the door open and led the way inside, soon stepping off to the side to reveal the room to you. The walls were lined with cabinets and bookshelves, and the far wall was lined with windows, but the majority of the remaining space was taken up by a large desk, behind which was an enormous, fluffy... goat monster? 

He had a kind face, at least. He had what you could only describe as a grandpa beard and long, curving horns. Behind him was a similar monster, though this one looked much more feminine and practically screamed comfort. She was very pretty, in her own way. Her ears looked soft. 

In her arms was... a human kid? Was that the human ambassador? They were... They were just a kid! They waved when you met their gaze, which you nervously returned. In the corner to your left, reclined in a chair much too small for her, was a blue, red-haired fish monster that seemed to be missing an eye. She was staring at her crossed legs, and didn't meet your gaze.

It was a lot to take in all at once. You quickly ducked your head, hands finding one another and holding tightly to the other. 

"Ah! Come in, come in! You must be... our guest. Please, sit." 

The golden-haired goat had a powerful voice, though it came out as a near murmur. You quickly shuffled your way forward, sitting on the edge of one of the free seats. Your hands were shaking. One of your legs was stretched awkwardly, since you were still too timid about the sprain to remove the gauze. Had Sans said anything about it?

"Ah... We hope you are enjoying your stay here, (Y/N)." The goat monster paused as though uncertain. "It is alright if I call you by your name, is it not?" 

You nodded slightly, too afraid to lift your head to meet his gaze. If this was who you thought it was, he was royalty, and currently the leader of a band of monsters all plagued by the human race. Also, he had to be like, eight feet tall. Talk about intimidating. Though, he kind of looked like he'd be fun to hug. Like a teddy bear, you know? A big, scary teddy bear that could crush you like a tin can.

"Please, do not be afraid. We are not going to hurt you. Think of it as... A talk with friends you have not seen in a long time."

After a moment of hesitation, you looked up. He looked very tired, you realized, but he was smiling reassuringly. You felt a pang of guilt; this was just a guy trying to do what was best for his people, and look at how rude you were being! You nodded, somewhat more strongly this time.

"Please, do not fret, my child. This will all be over before you know it. I am Toriel, caretaker of this place." The elegant, soft monster standing behind the king stepped forward, smiling warmly at you. You felt... much safer now. You weren't entirely sure why. She radiated kindness. 

"I am Asgore, king of... leader of these monsters. It is nice to meet you." 

"I-it's nice m-meet you, t-too." Your voice was so small and pathetic. You were so small and pathetic. Why did you exist. 

"Now, you must understand... Before we let you go, we must first be sure that our safety will not be put at risk. Part of this process will involve questioning. Is that all right?"

You nodded, still staring at your hands.

"Now, let's see... Was there was anyone with you, that night..."

All the questions were simple and mostly yes or no, most about whether or not someone could be looking for you or wondering where you were.

"Do you perhaps have any family who might be worried...?"

You thought about it, then shook your head. The king seemed surprised. 

"Truthfully? No one?" 

Again, you shook your head. Toriel let out a soft noise, shifting the child in her arms. 

"Oh, you poor dear... You do not mean...?"

It took you a moment. "O-oh, no. T-they're all fine. W-we just... We don't... We h-haven't spoken in a long time. W-we never got a-along... very well." You smiled awkwardly, avoiding Toriel's soft, piteous gaze. 

"Ah, our apologies. We did not mean to bring up troubling memories." 

"D-don't worry about it. I-it's fine." 

On and on it went. You had no idea how long you were in there.

"Now, I know this must be tiring, but don't fret, it will be over soon. We are nearing our last question."

"O-okay."

"This one is mostly out of my own curiosity... What would someone like yourself be doing out at such an hour, alone, no less?" Did he sound... genuinely concerned? You avoided his gaze.

"O-oh... I was working, and I had to walk home... Y-you take what you can get in times like this, you know?" You chuckled, shrugging weakly. 

"Ah, I see." You saw him nod from the corner of your eye. "Now... Now... Do you happen to have any questions of your own?" 

You shook your head, watching as the kid in Toriel's arms slid to the floor. They came up to you, eyed you a moment, then smiled and signed a slow and careful 'Things will look up soon.' You blinked, then smiled. Mute or deaf, and the ambassador. You hoped they were proud of them. You mouthed a silent 'thank you' at them. You were glad you had taken a few signing classes.

The child patted your hand, smiled at you, then went back to Toriel. A moment later, you were dismissed with a kind goodbye, and you were back in the hallway with Sans. You couldn't see his face, but he felt oddly... cold. But when didn't he? Maybe you were looking too far into it.

The rabbit monsters were chuckling in the kitchen when you walked past, and two monsters were arguing over characterization in the library. As you walked past the living room, however, two monsters apparently caught sight of you and got curious. 

First, a cold, wet nose nudged your elbow, then a warm, fluffy bulk nudged your shoulder. You flinched, then got an eyeful of two white dog-like monsters, one in an enormous suit of armor, the other with a very long neck. They nosed you all over for a moment, making you laugh as they prodded at your ticklish sides, then took to nuzzling you and nudging your hands in an attempt to get you to pet them. You smiled, ruffled their ears, laughed as one of them continuously stretched his neck out and the other attempted to crawl into your lap despite you being standing. Eventually, butted their heads against you from both sides, nearly lifting you off the ground, then trotted away, throwing a goodbye bark over their shoulders. 

Once your giggles died down and you straightened your now ruffled shirt, you looked up to see Sans staring at you silently. It brought you sharply back to reality, and you ducked your head, hurrying to catch up.

"Sorry."

He made a small noise, leading you back up the staircase. He was silent all the while, even when he took up his place in the room once again. You paced for a bit, smoothing Snickers' fur from his place atop the table near the door. You drew your fingers across its top, looking at the lines in the dust it left there.

"This place sure is... dusty."

Well, that was rude. Honestly, you just wanted to have a conversation with this guy for once. You were tired of being scared of him, of his silence. It was silly. ... Wasn't it? He was your captor, but...

He seemed to wince at the word dusty, but it was gone so quick you could have been mistaken. It took him a while to answer. "was like that when we got here. when a monster dies, they turn to dust, and their loved ones spread it over their favorite belongings. we know this stuff isn't the same, but... we didn't have the heart to clean the place up." He shrugged, closing his eyes as he usually did. "easier for me. i tend to be a lazy pile of bones when it comes to cleaning."

You were quiet for a while, staring at the dust on your fingertips. Oh.

"I'm sorry." 

You blurted the words out before you could think about it, and for once, you were kind of glad you did. He cracked an eye open, looking at you. You could feel it. When he didn't say anything, you continued.

"F-for all we've done to you. We must seem pretty awful and... unfair." Still, he didn't say anything. You shifted to look out the windows, trying to find something to look at besides the dust. "I-I mean... I can't imagine this is what you were expecting when you got up here."

He chuckled, though it sounded hollow. "crossed my mind once or twice." 

It was quiet for a while.

"y'know what i've been curious about?" 

Holy shoot, was he actually initiating conversation? "W-what?" 

"what someone like you is doing in a city like this. seems most of the people with more sense than a box of rocks got out of here pretty fast. wouldn't take you to be the type to hang around." You could feel his gaze, burning into the back of your skull as he chuckled again. "nah. too soft."

You swallowed, looking down at your feet. "I didn't have a lot of places to go to. I was... I was trying to make enough money to get out. But... Jobs... In times like this, they don't pay too well, and... It takes a lot just to get by..."

He was quiet for a minute.

"I bet you want to get out of here, too." The words flew out of your mouth, and you wished more than anything to take them back. "You must feel like you've been trapped all over again." Aaand that was even worse. Swell.

He shrugged as if it didn't matter, crossing his arms across his knees. You kept your eyes on the window. "not a lot we can do about it."

"I'm sorry. Really. I wish... I wish everyone could just be happy. I used to wish on shooting stars, when I was a kid, I would wish for happiness on Earth, because everyone had already seen enough unhappiness as it was... It must have seemed silly. Still does. I should... be quiet before I embarrass myself more." You chuckled weakly, running a hand over your face. 

"nah." 

You glanced at him in surprise. He wasn't looking at you anymore, just reclining against the wall with his eyes closed. 

"i used to wish i could see the real stars." 

"... And now that you've seen them? What do you wish for now?"

He chuckled, shrugging. "dunno. still figuring it out. my head is pretty empty most of the time."

You decided to stop pressing for the day. You'd actually gotten a conversation out of him; that was something. It almost seemed like he was considering believing you. You probably looked like a fool, but you had an actual conversation with him, and that was better than sitting in his usual silence.

...

Had that been a pun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I should really stop updating this so quickly... 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!! Feel free to let me know if you have questions or concerns, or if you think anyone is out of character, etc.!


	5. Day twenty-three: Tulips

This room was very dull once you got used to it. Also, you sneezed a lot, since you didn't have the heart to clean up after what Sans said. Also also, Snickers was blaming you for his lack of anything to do and was angry about it and now you felt bad.

He had first taken to trying to hide the few belongings you had scattered throughout the room, but it was hard when there were only so many places to hide them. Then he started waking you up in the middle of the night. Then he started squeaking at the door, walking on you when you didn't respond, then squeaking at the door again once he got your attention. It made you feel bad, even if it shouldn't, considering you had no power over where he could go at this point in time.

On what you had counted to be the twenty-third day, he decided his previous methods hadn't worked well enough, so he was currently huddling in the farthest corner under the bed, quietly frowning at you as strained to reach him.

"Come on, Snicks. Please don't be like this."

"if you're lookin' for monsters, that's not the place to check first."

You jumped, the back of your head sharply meeting the bed frame above you. You slithered out from underneath it, clutching the back of your head. You looked up only when you heard a chuckle above you, cheeks burning in embarrassment. Sans was looming a few feet away, assumably having been watching you a while. You quickly avoided his gaze, trying to hide the burning in your cheeks. 

Your relationship had improved... somewhat. He wasn't so quiet, at least. Cracked bad jokes more often, and you found yourself snickering along a tad more genuinely as you relaxed into the new mode your life had given you. It still seemed he was reluctant to believe you, though, which made you feel bad; you had no idea how to convince him, but you didn't want him thinking you were a bad person. 

You lifted yourself to your feet, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed. "Hi."

"heya. put your shoes on." He turned on his heel, stopping only when he came to rest on the doorframe, apparently waiting for you. When you blinked at him in disbelief, he continued. "Toriel thought it'd be good for your health to go out get some fresh air, so i'm taking you down to the courtyard."

"Oh. Okay." You stood and awkwardly tugged your beat up sneakers on. Snickers poked his head out from under the bed when you headed for the door. 

It was as quiet a walk as the last time you left the room. You went back to the main floor, though you didn't end up walking all the way down to the office. You passed the living room, which was full of all kinds of monsters (as usual?), then took a turn into a hallway. It was lined with large windows on one side, a door breaking the pattern in the middle.

Sans held the door for you as stepped out into the warm, breezy air outside, though you soon drew up short. These monsters really knew how to plant a garden. 

The air was aglow with different kinds of late blooming flowers, the grass around them just starting to change to a gold-green hue. Short walls of brick blocked the plants in, the free paths between made of cobblestone. What may have been a fountain in its working days stood still and enchanted in the middle, looking frozen in time. High walls rose on the far side, blocking your view of the outside world. Somewhere in the distance, you could hear leaves rustling softly in the breeze. A brittle leaf skated past, skittering along the ground.

It felt nearly unreal after the stillness of your room. 

You brushed your fingers over one bushes sharp, prickly leaves, gently running a thumb along the tiny clusters of bright red berries. From somewhere, a bird fluttered away. You smiled, watching a soft white flower bob in its wake. 

"Hey, Sans." You turned, looking over your shoulder at where the skeleton was... sleeping while standing? Or just enjoying the breeze? He cracked one eye open. "H-how many lips do flowers have?"

He looked confused for a split second, then seemed to catch on. "dunno. how many?"

"Tu-lips!" You snickered at your own joke while he laughed. For a moment, you actually felt... okay. You almost felt like you'd just told new friend you'd just made some lame joke you happened to like. Almost like this could be... normal.

"Euuuugh, if you're just going to make jokes with the smiley trash bag, at least go do it somewhere away from me." A sharp, rather angry voice broke your train of thought and you jumped backwards, away from the flowerbeds. 

You blinked. A scowling yellow buttercup was frowning at Sans. You knew you shouldn't have been surprised, really, but... He caught you off guard. He lifted his head to glare at you, then seemed to falter a moment. A sneer spread across his unhappy face. 

"Don't we have enough humans around here as it is?" 

You stepped back, feeling suddenly hurt. He was really good at pouring spite into his voice. Suddenly, he grinned wickedly, twisting his head upside down at an awkward angle. 

"Or maybe you're going to do the same thing to this one that you did to the human in the alley way? Golly, you wouldn't be laughing if you knew what he did to your pal back there- OW!" 

He twisted back into place, leaves clutching his face where a small bone had suddenly struck him. He muttered something sharply, then disappeared into the soil. You stared after him, suddenly feeling cold in the warm summer atmosphere. You glanced at the scuffed stone beneath your feet, a thought you'd been trying to avoid coming back to prickle at the edges of your mind.

"Sans... That night, in the alley. That person... Were they-?"

"no." 

You lifted your head, frowning softly. Sans was staring at the place where the flower had been, though it might have been a glare; it was hard to tell. After a moment, he met your gaze. 

"just hurt. don't pay any attention to him. he just likes to cause trouble everywhere he goes. he's like a bratty kid looking for the spotlight in the most obnoxious way possible." 

Your gut was churning, but you steadily held his gaze for a moment, then broke away. "Okay." 

It was silent for a while. You studied your old, scuffed sneakers for a bit. After a moment, you leaned down and picked up a leaf that had caught against your shoe, holding it up to the light to admire the spiderweb of veins there. You contemplated it a moment, then took a few paces closer to Sans. 

"In the Fall, when the trees start sensing that the cold is coming, all their leaves change color as their chlorophyll dies before falling off. Eventually, all the leaves fall off the tree, and it looks like it's dead. But the buds always come back in the Spring. No matter how dead the tree looks, the leaves will always come back." You glanced at the leaf in your hands again, brushing a thumb along its deep yellow stem. "A few lose their leaves early. They're normally the first to come back, though." 

As soon as you finished, you suddenly felt very stupid. He probably already knew that! You must have looked so pretentious. Why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut? You stared at the leaf for a long time, ears burning, afraid to meet Sans' gaze. 

"heh." 

You blinked, hesitating. Had that been a laugh...? You looked up after a moment, almost hopeful. 

Sans was studying you again, though there was something less threatening about his gaze. Not quite so cold. Not quite so sharp. Almost...

"you hold onto that belief for the both of us, kid." 

He closed his eyes again, leaning against one of the short walls nearby. You smiled softly, relieved that you hadn't insulted him or made him angry. You took a walk around the ring of flowerbeds, careful to keep an eye out for angry yellow buttercups, glad to have outside that dingy, musty room. The old fountain in the center could use a good cleaning, but it had the potential to be very beautiful if it ever ran again. It reminded you of the old fountains found in small, worn down parks and ancient, cracked bird baths.

When you had done all the wandering you wanted to do for the day, you stepped back to Sans and glanced toward the door you'd come out of, only to start in surprise. A cluster of monsters- a blue one that could only be the one you saw in the office, a shorter yellow monster you didn't recognize, and, oddly enough, Papyrus- were standing on the other side, seemingly watching you. The child from the office- Frisk, if they were the ambassador?- was also standing with them, face pressed against the glass. Though it looked as though he was holding something, Papyrus waved when you met his gaze. You waved back, somewhat shocked at having an audience.

"Um, Sans."

He chuckled, seemingly not bothered. "i know. i've got eyes in the back of my head." He winked, then... pulled a googly eye out of his eye socket. Maybe it was a magicians trick, but it still shocked you before you could laugh. 

The group behind the door backed up when you approached, though Papyrus was beaming as you came back inside. It caught you even more by surprise when you saw the thing in his arms was Snickers, who was purring and gently pricking Papyrus' sleeve with his claws. 

"Greetings, human! I hope you do not mind that I brought your feline out and about around the house; when I heard Sans was taking you outside, I thought it might surprise you!" 

You laughed weakly, reaching up to ruffle Snickers' ears. He squeaked at you, then went back to purring loudly. "C-certainly surprised me. Um, hello." You gave an awkward wave to the two monsters you didn't recognize.

The yellow, pudgy one seemed to be sweating, but she smiled nervously and lifted a small, scaly hand to return the wave. "Uh, h-hello. S-sorry for spying on you like t-that... I-I just hadn't had the ch-chance to see you yet, and..." 

"It's alright. I'm (Y/N)." You extended your hand, trying to be reassuring. She put her hand in yours, and you were faintly surprised by how warm it was, despite it being slightly sweaty. 

"A-Alphys." 

The tall, rather intimidating blue monster had been silently eyeing you all the while, and suddenly stuck her large, scaly hand into your face. Her grin was sharp and rather menacing. 

"Hey, punk." You cringed involuntarily at the nickname, but timidly put your hand in hers. Her grip sure was... strong. You tried not to wince too obviously. "Names Undyne. I've heard nothing but wimpy things about you." 

You tried a rather lame attempt at a smile, half expecting the tendons in your hand to snap. "O-oh, yeah? P-Papyrus told me n-nothing but good things a-about you. I-it's nice to finally meet you." 

This seemed to please her, and her grin turned slightly less scary as she dropped your hand. "Hey, this ones not as weak-kneed as you led me to believe, Sans!" 

You glanced at Sans in faint indignation, but he just shrugged, looking rather pleased with himself. 

"nah, but they are pretty weak around the knees, anyway." 

You stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then ducked your head to hide your burning face. He chuckled, nudging you.

"cmon, she practically walked into that one."

Undyne was silent for a moment. "... I don't get it."

"Sans, did you break the human? I thought queen Toriel specifically asked you to be courteous!" 

"they're fine, Paps. maybe they just 'kneed' a break."

"I have a feeling that was a pun, but I can't be certain... I'm going to be angry anyway!"

The human child, Frisk, smiled at you through the small chaos. You returned it, trying to push past your previous embarrassment. 

Your suddenly somewhat larger group made its through the halls toward your room, chattering and murmuring amongst themselves. In that short time, you learned Undyne was very loud and extreme, Alphys was very timid but actually very smart, and Frisk was very sociable, very accepting of all their friend's quirks. Oddly enough, they all went together with a nice chemistry. Sans seemed to open up a little more around them. It was... nice.

When you walked past the filled living room again, you paused to wave at the monsters inside. Several reacted with surprise, while several more ducked behind their companions. The dogs you'd met before- Greater and Lesser Dog, you'd learned- yipped happily after you, waving their paws in response. While their response made you feel slightly better, the fact that the majority of the monsters seemed afraid of you made you feel pretty bad. After a moment, you continued on with the odd ragtag group you'd found yourself pulled into.

Eventually, it was just you, Papyrus, and Sans, the others breaking off to go elsewhere at the staircase. When you got to your room, Snickers seemed content with his exploration for the day and curled up on the comforter, squeaking contentedly at you when you smoothed his fur. 

When you woke the following morning, you were surprised to find a simple yellow leaf on the table beside the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am v tired and v sore,, but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Let me know if you questions, comments, concerns, etc!


	6. Day Forty-One: Trick of the mind to cope, or genuine friendship?

It's been nearly twenty days since you first went to the courtyard, adding you up to roughly forty days, but somehow, the time isn't bothering you so much.

Yes, you wish you had a tad more freedom, but, in a way, you feel more like you're just being taken care of rather than held hostage. In fact, it feels strange to call this 'being held against your will' if you're not fighting it. Of course, there are times you suddenly wish to be back 'home', suddenly wish you weren't trapped, but those are odd and spontaneous moments that only come once in a blue moon.

Every day since the twenty third day, you've been taken down to the courtyard for a few minutes because it's 'good for your health' (you get the feeling they feel guilty about keeping you locked in a room all day). Sometimes it's Sans, sometimes it's Papyrus, though once or twice you were taken out by Alphys and Undyne.

It seems like monsters attach easily; already, it is almost like you are taking a walk to the park with friends. Except these friends are also the ones who are keeping you here because they don't want to release you for fear of their own safety... You try not to think about it too much.

Every time you walk past, you wave to the monsters in the living room. At first they reacted with fear or suspicion, then with curiosity, and now you're even getting a few waves back! It makes you feel better, having someone to wave to. A few kids brighten upon seeing you, and you once caught one of them seemingly asking Frisk a question shortly after you waved. You could only assume it was about you when they glanced in your direction, looking troubled.

Part of you wondered, at times, if they even knew what they were doing, or if they were even planning on letting you go. You were afraid to ask. Maybe... While you wanted, desperately, to hope not, maybe it was all a facade to make you happy before they did something... for the good of their people. Not for the good of you.

The thought scared you.

But then, Papyrus would open the door, beaming at you as he excitedly called for Snickers, apparently ecstatic to show him the new vest he'd had a friend make for him so that he could go out on a leash instead of having to be held whenever he was let out of the room, and you would be able to push the thought away until you were left alone with your thoughts once again.

It had been funny to watch Papyrus' dumbfounded expression when Snickers refused to walk when first put in the vest, watching in confusion as he took two steps then flopped onto his side like he'd been paralyzed. Eventually, with Papyrus' help, you'd convinced Snickers to give it a shot. He'd had fun that day, you think.

Sometimes, when you got back from being the courtyard, there would be an amber colored leaf sitting on your windowsill, or a scarlet one casting it's red shadow, or a lovely golden one brightening up the area around it. You couldn't figure where they were coming from- had someone been opening the windows to air the room out and they'd blown in, somehow?- but you started lining them up in little rows along the sills. They made you smile. If you ever got bored or troubling thoughts woke you in the middle of the night, you could rearrange them- small to large, red to orange to yellow, shapes and types. It was nice.

One night, you had woken to chirping.

Sitting up in confusion, you blearily looked around. Moonlight was cast, silvery blue, across the floor, illuminating Snickers and making him look ghostly as he crouched in the middle of the floor. You watched as he reached out a paw to dab at a shadow, only to jump two feet backwards when said shadow leaped away. You blinked yourself awake and stood, somewhat uncertain on your recently un-wrapped knee.

Snickers was stretching out his neck to sniff at the thing when you approached, and you gasped, quickly nudging him away.

"No, Snickers, no! Leave the cricket alone."

A simple black cricket was huddled in the middle of your floor, long antennae bobbing. You scooped up your glass of water, pouring what little was in it down the sink, then gently lowered it down around him. Of course, he panicked, but you easily slid a paper underneath him and flipped the glass right side up again, trapping him inside.

He skittered at the walls of his smooth, transparent prison, unable to gain purchase. "Sorry, buddy." You whispered, gently lowering the glass to the tabletop beside your bed.

You drifted in and out of sleep until morning, then fully awoke before anyone appeared at your door. You were watching the cricket make another round at the walls when the door clicked and swung open. You glanced up. Sans.

You picked over your breakfast, then turned to the windows. You peered through them a moment, uncertain, then turned to Sans.

"Can you... open the window?"

He narrowed his sockets at you suspiciously and was quiet for a minute. "... why?"

You held up the glass, the cricket pawing at the sides in a vain attempt to get free. Sans blinked, staring at it a moment, then shrugged and walked over. With a snap of his fingers, the window unlocked and he tugged it just barely ajar. You tipped the glass, sending the cricket tumbling onto the small sill outside, before shutting the window again. With a snap, it locked once more. You watched the cricket struggle upright, turn a few times, then come back and peer through the glass at you as though asking if he could be let back in. After a moment, he turned and hopped onto a nearby tree branch, and quickly disappeared into the foliage.

 

Sans reclined in one of the many chairs in the office, picking a leaf up with his magic, then watching it slowly drift back down again. He smirked as he lifted it just out of Frisk's reach when they tried to snatch it out of the air.

Toriel was fidgeting nearby, looking conflicted and uncertain. The room felt somewhat cramped, with all of them in there; Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Sans, Toriel, Asgore and, of course, Frisk. Asgore apparently had called them together to ask them about something, but seemed to mulling over how to phrase it. It was quiet, save for the sound of Papyrus leafing though a random book. Asgore coughed, and everyone glanced up.

"Well, I suppose..." He broke off, clearly questioning himself.

"What is it, Asgore?" Toriel almost snapped, sounding impatient. Asgore wilted, glancing away.

"Ah, right. Sorry. I know you all have better things to be doing, but... There is business to be discussed. About... The human."

"The hostage human?" Undyne looked up from where she was picking at one of the potted buttercups.

"Yes, that one. I know you all have had many periods of contact with them, and... I was wondering what you thought of them. Whether or not they are trustworthy."

Undyne shrugged. "Seem pretty spineless to me. If we really thought they might tell, we could probably scare them into thinking better. Otherwise they seem harmless."

"I-I agree. T-they seem alright." Alphys was wringing her hands, looking nervous. It was clear she wasn't sure whether to trust her own judgement or not.

"I think they are great! Not as great as me, but pretty great! I don't think there's anything to fear from them!"

"And you, Sans? You're the one who's spent the majority of the time with them. What do you think?"

Sans paused, letting the leaf fall into his palm. He mulled it over for a minute. "either they're a great actor, or they wouldn't hurt a fly. seems like the latter to me, but what do i know? from everything they've said, they don't want us in any more trouble than we're already in. could be lying to save their hide or could be telling the truth. hard to tell. seem harmless enough at the moment." He glanced at Toriel, who still looked troubled. "Tori? your thoughts?"

She tended to be a good judge of character, even if her motherly instincts sometimes clouded her. Sans wasn't sure if she had the soul search ability- the ability to see a humans soul even when not in combat- but sometimes he wondered. She sighed, wringing her soft hands.

"From what little I have seen of them, I feel bad for keeping them here with so little freedom. I agree with the others. There is not a lot they would do to harm us, I think."

Asgore nodded, running a hand through his ruffled, greying hair. "I thought the same, but did not want to make a decision based on my insight alone. Thank you."

There was a long pause. Then, Papyrus spoke up.

"So... What now? Will we let them go? I will miss the times we spent together..."

Asgore shook his head. "Not yet."

More silence.

"You are all... dismissed."

The group trickled out the door, though Toriel and Asgore stayed. Frisk left with Papyrus, looking bothered. Sans winced internally. He wished they hadn't been in the room to hear all that. He paused by the door.

"still think they'll be a threat to us when we let them go?"

Asgore shook his great, furry head, looking very old. "Not hardly. At least, that is not the only reason I am keeping them here. I do not wish to put us at risk, but I do not want them to be put at risk, either."

Sans understood, and nodded before walking out of the room. Part of him cursed monsters for getting attached so easily, but, at least with Frisk, it had proved to be not so bad. The other part of him was fairly ready to say he thought you were of good character. But then again... Only time would tell. One could never be too careful.

 

You and Frisk were walking around the garden together, balancing on the short walls surrounding the flowerbeds. Papyrus had wanted to join you, but Snickers apparently had another agenda and was dragging him around and about, sniffing at the moss growing on the stones and the grass poking up between them.

It was a beautiful day outside; very warm, but not so much that it wasn't comfortable. You enjoyed feeling like a child again, balancing precariously on the brick walls with your arms held out far from your sides, wobbling a little every now and then. Frisk laughed when they fell sideways and into a springy bush, quickly righting themselves again. Sans was keeping an eye on you as you tottered about, giggling with one another.

You could keep your troubling thoughts far away on days like this.

"Don't let him eat any grass, Papyrus! It makes his stomach upset!"

"Ah, of course! Just as I suspected! Come now, small feline! Didn't you hear your human?"

You snickered at the tall skeleton, carefully putting one foot in front of the other. Sans was side eyeing you, watching every step you and Frisk made.

"Relax, Sans, we're fine. Even if we did fall it's not even that-"

Your head went light a moment as one of your ankles suddenly wobbled and gave, sending you toppling sideways. Frisk struck out a hand, trying to catch your sleeve, as you fell off the flower bed. There was a quiet 'whoa!' behind you, and you suddenly felt oddly weightless as things flashed blue before two hands caught your back and pushed you gently onto your feet. You wobbled a moment, then grabbed the wall with a hand and steadied yourself.

"Whoops. Heh... heh. Sorry. Guess my ankles are worse than I... thought." You shook your head to clear its fuzziness, then looked up. Frisk was eyeing you worriedly, though they relaxed when you gave them a reassuring smile. Their gaze shifted downward, and they pointed at something near your chest. You looked down, confused, and blinked.

A small, brilliant green shape was hovering near your ribcage. You lifted a hand and hesitantly touched it, making jitters shoot up your spine.

"W-what... Is it?"

You looked at Frisk, then at Sans. He was eyeing it carefully, but there was something about his gaze. Something like understanding, maybe. But it was only there for a second before he chuckled, looking away.

"shoulda figured." He muttered under his breath, then turned back to you, hands in his pockets. "that's your soul. very culmination of your being."

You looked down at it, then back up at him stupidly. "But... I... Um. O-okay." You stared at it, suddenly feeling very small. Vulnerable. After a moment, the tiny, heart-shaped object beat once, then sank back into your chest.

Well, that was a jarring experience.

Sans suddenly snickered, making you glance up. He winked, nudging you. "isn't it a little early to be falling for me?"

You blinked in surprise, then scoffed under your breath as Frisk lightly punched his arm, making him chuckle.

"sorry, it was too easy. couldn't pass up the chance."

"Sans! Are you making puns over there?!"

"punsolutely."

"That isn't even a pun!"

"you're smiling, though."

"I am and I hate it!"

You were still snickering at the skeleton brothers antics as you made your way through the halls inside. You passed the library, nodded to the monsters sitting around a table in there, then faltered as the living room came into view. Toriel- the soft, kind-hearted monster from the office- was standing just outside, one hand on the frame, the other hovering about her chest. She looked troubled.

She glanced up as you approached, smiling as Frisk ran up to her and grabbed one of her hands. "Hello, my child. Hello, Sans, Papyrus. Hello, dear."

A small chorus of 'hellos' followed her greeting. She was studying your face, looking guilty.

"My dear, I am sorry to say this, but... It appears as though you must stay here for a while longer. I apologize for this."

"I-it's alright. I understand." You tried to smile reassuringly, feeling slightly better when she smiled back.

"Goodness, you are a kind one, are you not? You must forgive me, but... When I first heard they had to bring a human back with them, as they had seen them... doing something bad, I thought... I thought but for a moment that you would be angry and attempt to lash out at us and I thought I was not ready to deal with such another trouble. Thank you, for not being what I expected." She patted your shoulder softly, and you felt oddly... Flattered? Flattered because she thanked you for not being a huge jerkwad. You really didn't get yourself sometimes.

"I-it's nothing. I-I think I'm too much of a coward to be angry." You chuckled weakly, looking away for a brief moment. "Besides, I don't want to make things harder on you guys. You deserve to be happy, especially after all you've been through." You took her hand in yours, giving it what you hoped was a reassuring touch.

She looked away, looking as though she might... cry. "You must forgive me. It has been a while since... A human has been so courteous. And even one that we are holding captive, I can hardly believe..." She shook her head, taking a breath. "Thank you, dear."

You lifted your arms to hug her- she looked like she needed it- but then faltered. She smiled, drawing you into a hug herself. She was very warm. Comforting. Everything you thought a mother should feel like. Even her hug was firm, but soft. You relaxed, laying your head near her shoulder. Goodness, she was tall.

You blinked back to reality when a much smaller pair of arms clasped around you from the side. You smiled, chuckling alongside Toriel as she lowered a hand and patted Frisk's head.

"Ah, goodie! A group hug! Come on, Sans, join in the fun!" Papyrus clapped, and then there was a third pair of arms joking the mix. You felt Snickers' nose touch your pant leg while Sans chuckled. "Sans! Get over here and join in the love!"

"nah."

"Fine! I'll do it myself!"

Papyrus pulled away a moment, then dragged Sans into the mess, and you were laughing, squashed between Papyrus' long arms, Toriel's shoulder, Frisk's littler arms, and Sans' bulk. Soon, everyone was laughing, and Frisk squirmed when Toriel scooped them up in one arm, hugging them tightly to her as she nuzzled their face in fuzzy kisses. Eventually, you had to pull away, taking a deep breath as you wiped at your eyes.

"Gosh, you guys have to be the best bunch of people I've ever met."

It was so easy to forget that you were a hostage at times like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I don't know if anyone else noticed, but?? Asriel really wasn't lying when he said the monsters had only known Frisk a little while. I mean, they befriend all the monsters in like, one day??? Seriously, go back and pay close attention! It all takes place in one day!
> 
> Headcanon that bonding easily is just a thing for monsters and no one can prove otherwise.
> 
> Coughcough I'm sorry if this rushed, I'm eager to get to the one part of the story that I actually have an idea how to write,, cough
> 
> If you have any questions, comments, concerns, etc., let me know!!


	7. Day... Fifty-Two? Losing count of days...

You like these monsters. They're kind and accepting, and, try as you might, you cannot detect any bad vibes from them. Papyrus is your friend. Alphys and Undyne are your pals. Frisk is your buddy. The monsters in the living room and kitchen and library alike all wave as you pass. You and Sans... You'd like to say you're friends, even if it is an odd kind of friendship.

It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like this, you're happy to have a little time to talk with Sans. While he doesn't really say a lot, what he does have to say is normally pretty interesting.

"Does anyone... know where this place is?"

"maybe. even if they did, they couldn't get in."

You sat on the wall where you had been balancing, giving him a questioning look. "Um, before I ask, are you sure you want to tell me something like that? Considering, I'm like... Still your captive."

Sans chuckled, leaning back against the rusty bench. "hardly a captive. at this point, we might as well just say you're our friend staying for an extended period of time. besides, even if you ended up telling someone, which you won't," A warning look here. You put your hands up as though in surrender. The look softens the slightest bit. "there's nothing any of you would be able to do about it."

You cocked your head, then got it. "Is it a magic thing?"

"yep." 

"Neat!"

He chuckled. "every time i mention magic around you, i'm reminded how little you guys actually know about it."

"I-I just think it's cool. To be able to do all that. Scary at times, yeah, but cool!" 

He snickered, opening an eye and peering at you. "scary?"

"T-there's a lot you guys can do with it. Though what I've heard might have been blown out of proportion." 

"hm." 

You were quiet for a bit, watching one of the late butterflies flutter lazily from one flower to the next. You reached and touched one of its wings and watched it dance away through the air. Somewhere, a bird twittered. You took a breath full of the warm, cozy air, watching the sky turn hazy yellow in the direction of where you could only assume the sunset was. You'd been out here for a while today.

"bout time to go back inside." Sans mumbled from where he was sitting, looking and sounding asleep. You stood and stretched. 

"You sure sitting on a rusty bench is good for your clothes?" 

He shrugged, pushing himself to his feet and his hands in his pockets. "probably not." 

You shook your head, amused. "You know, it's kind of funny... When I first met you, I thought you were kinda scary." When he glanced sideways at you, bemused, you huffed in embarrassment.

"oh, yeah? and what about now?" He sounded thoroughly amused. You rolled your eyes, contemplating him a moment as you put a hand on the door.

"You'd look better with a hat." You laughed, pushing the door open before he could wipe the surprised look off his face. He easily caught up to you in the hallway as you strolled leisurely down the path you knew well.

It was a generally quiet walk, passing the large mirrors and warped windows, old paintings and faded wallpaper. There was a commotion up ahead as you approached the kitchen, and you paused to peek inside. The monsters inside were scuttling about, some pausing to talk to one another every now and then. They all looked very busy.

"Um, hey. Is something the matter?" You called to one as they went past, and they paused, wringing their hands.

"Not really, no. It's just that... We started a little late this evening, and with Papyrus and Muffet being busy, we're a tad short on hands and it's making us all very stressed. We should have had dinner ready a while ago, but..." They sighed, running a hand over their face.

"If you wouldn't mind, I could lend a little help. I'm don't have much in the way of experience, but I can follow orders pretty well." You took a small step forward, eager to try and help them. They glanced at you rather hopefully.

"Oh, could you? We wanted to ask someone, but we didn't want to bother anybody..."

"Of course I can." You took a step to follow them further into the room, only to pause and look back at Sans, standing in the doorway. "Is it alright if I...?"

He shrugged, but didn't make any move to stop and instead reclined against the doorframe, looking content to stay where he was. "knock yourself out."

You smiled, quickly falling into step behind the rabbit monster as they led you around the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Alright, what should I do?"

"Well, we could really do to get these chopped..."

"I can do chopping."

 

The bunch of fluffy folk you now found yourself working beside were all very friendly; within a few minutes, you knew their names and who was related to who (which, apparently, they were all related to one another in one way or another). They were kind when you messed up, encouraging when you did well, and none of them seem bothered by the fact that you were not only a human, but the human captive. 

"You're not too bad!" One of them smiled at you as she passed with a bowl full of different chopped vegetables. You ducked your head, flustered.

"Aha, thank you. I've had the most limited amount of time working in a kitchen possible, you'll have to excuse my mess ups." You chuckled weakly. Part of you wondered if they actually thought you were okay or if they were just that kind.

You weaved in and out between them, bringing someone this from one of the large refrigerators, pulling that out of the oven, putting something else on the stove. It was hectic and confusing, but they were patient. 

At one point you glanced up from what you were doing to see what Sans was up to. He was still lingering in the doorway, at least, though now, Toriel had joined him. They seemed to be talking quietly, and at one point Sans grinned in the way he did before he told a joke and Toriel laughed a wonderful, breathless laugh. It made you smile, and you waved when she glanced up. 

Eventually, once everything was finished, you stood by to watch as all the kitchen hands bustled out into the hall and away, all carrying multiple plates of food. They all trailed down to the living room and filed inside, and you were surprised to find all the monsters there- more than usual- sitting in a rough circle. The food was passed around, though the fluffy folk had to make multiple trips to handle it all. 

You hung back, watching as the monsters murmured and talked amongst themselves as they ate. For once, it seemed they didn't notice you lingering in the doorway. They felt like a family. A family, yes, but a family that has experienced a collective loss. You frowned softly, realizing they all must be monsters taking refuge from the angry humans in town. They had no where else to go that felt safe. No wonder they all seemed sad.

"You guys all work together better than anyone I've ever seen. It's pretty amazing." You murmured to Sans, only to feel a hand fall upon your shoulder that was very soft and not at all bony.

"I am sure Asgore would be proud to hear that." Toriel smiled when you twisted in place to look up at her. "Thank you for helping them in the kitchen."

"Oh, it was my pleasure. Couldn't just walk by when they needed help, ya know?" You shrugged, trying your best at a casual smile. Toriel seemed to nod to herself after a moment, as though having made a decision.

"I was wondering... You would like to explore the house, would you not? Perhaps tomorrow Papyrus can show you around. I'm sure even the courtyard must feel small after a while." 

You blinked, not believing your ears. "W-wait, really?"

"Of course. So long as you would not mind."

"Of course I wouldn't mind! Not in the slightest!"

"Ah, good! Then you can meet some of our fellows living here... They've been curious about you for a while, I'd say. I think it will be a treat for all of us." She squeezed your shoulder, giving you a soft smile. "Now, you must excuse me, I must go and see if Papyrus is back yet..." 

She turned and quickly paced away down the hall and out of sight. You excitedly turned to Sans as you started down the hallway in the opposite direction.

"Oh my gosh! I finally get to wander around a little bit!"

Sans chuckled. "so i've heard."

"I can hardly wait!" 

"you sure are excited for this."

"Of course! I mean, I know I'm supposed to be your captive, but I've really wanted to meet some of those monsters I see every day! They all seem so down, I just hope I can do something to make them happy again."

"anything for a smile, huh?"

"Making other people happy is just the best feeling in the world. You tell jokes to make people laugh, right? I would like to do the same thing, just without the comedy. I'm not very funny."

"i dunno, i thought the one about leaves you said the other day was pretty fun."

"It's the oldest and lamest one in the book!"

"a classic."

"You and your jokes."

"hey, you laugh."

"You've got me there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Reader is a Sue, but I don't know how to fix it,,, oops,,
> 
> Hope you enjoy this short one! Comments, questions, concerns, etc.? Let me know!


	8. The Altruist you used to know and yearn to be

Several days had passed since Toriel told you they would let you wander about for a day, and you had yet to have that freedom. 

Not that you were complaining! ... Out loud. They were apparently waiting for a day when the monsters were feeling a little bit better than usual, which you could respect. It would be a huge downer to go out just to see all of them not feeling up to talking with you or something.

But... This meant you had a lot of time to think about meeting them. 

And by think about, I mean you had a lot of time to worry about everything that could go wrong. 

You were sitting on the bed, knees drawn up to your chest, watching Snickers bat his little jingling ball back and forth between his paws. Your gut was churning, but you tried not to let it show. You didn't want Sans to know how bothered you were. It might make him upset or something.

"Do I annoy you?" The words blurted out before you could stop them, and you instantly regretted it. You could feel the hairs on the back of your neck raise up in the way they always did when Sans' gaze was on you.

"nope."

Well, that was a relief. But...

"Do you think I'll annoy the others? The other monsters, I mean?"

"it's hard to annoy us unless you're Jerry."

"W-who's Jerry?"

"someone you're not like."

"Oh."

Silence. You curled your fingers into your pant legs, wanting to crush out the uneasy churning in your stomach. You could tell Sans was waiting for you to continue, but you kept your mouth clamped shut.

"why do you ask?"

You winced. "I'm... No reason. Just thinking."

"you won't annoy them."

"How can you be sure?" 

The words flew out of your mouth before you could stop them yet again. You sharply bit your tongue, burying your head in your knees.

"what's with the sudden doom and gloom? you seemed excited a few days ago."

"It's just... First thing is that I'm human, and there's all that, but... What if I can't make them smile? What if they get aggravated when I try? Not everyone appreciates it when you try to get them to smile despite the circumstances..."

Sans shrugged. "then you can't make them happy. not really your fault."

You 'hmm'ed unhappily. You could see him eyeing you. Or, feel him eyeing you. 

"y'know, your stress over making others happy almost feels kinda strange sometimes."

You snorted, trying to hide your anxiety. "Gee, thanks."

"no offense."

"It's just something I was taught, alright?"

"oh, really?"

"Yeah, really. My uncle always said there was no better redemption than going out of your way to be kind to people."

"'no better redemption'? makes it sound like you've got some kind of guilt complex."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny." Could he hear your heart beat? Could he sense how defensive you were threatening to become? Lord, you hoped not.

"i thought you said you had no family to try and contact."

"I d-don't."

"you mentioned an uncle in a fond tone, implying you get along. you sure he wouldn't try to find you?"

"H-he's not... Around any more." 

"sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

A long silence.

"he raise you?"

You chuckled weakly. "S-sort of. Our family... never really got along, but I tended to try and hang out with him whenever I had the chance. He was just the kind of person to leave smiles wherever he went, and I admired that. I wanted to be like him."

"ah."

More silence.

"how recently did he pass?"

"Are you trying to turn all therapist on me here or what?"

"seems like there's a lot of loose ends. got me curious."

"We all just... Never got along. That's all there is to it."

"hm."

"... It was a while ago, since you asked."

More silence. 

"any family live in the city?"

"Used to."

"where'd they go?"

"In all different directions. I stayed here."

"to stay with this uncle?"

You tried to calm yourself; he was just asking questions, like any normal person would do. There was no harm in his curiosity. No malice. Deep breathes. No need to get angry or upset. Maybe he just wanted to help.

"No. They all left after he got into his car accident. He was like... The only thing holding them together. After he died, all hell broke loose."

"must've been hard."

"You have no idea." You ran a hand over your face, trying to force back the burning in your eyes. "It's stupid. I thought..." 

"thought what?"

"I blamed myself. I was in the car with him, and when I lived and he didn't, I thought... I don't know. I felt awful. And then everyone started arguing. No one was happy, not even when they were alone and away from one another, they kept being angry and bitter and frustrated, and I just wanted them to feel better, you know? But... They didn't."

"an accident happened when you were around. that's not your fault."

"It sure felt like it." You scowled, burying your head into your knees. Something soft bumped your elbow, and you peeked out to see Snickers staring at you. You swallowed, looking away. "When they all started arguing with one another, I tried my damnedest to get them to get along or just take a deep breath and relax for even a minute. But nothing worked. I feel like they might have blamed me, too. To have all that on me all at once... It was the worst I've ever felt in my entire life.

"Once they left, I decided that I couldn't just go around moping about it for the rest of my life. I wanted to be like my uncle. I wanted to keep his spirit alive, as silly as it sounds. I wanted to make others happy everywhere I went. Try as I might, though... I never seem to have the same affect. It's just so great when I /can/ finally do it, y'know? I've made it my purpose, and when I /can't/ do it, what does that make me?" 

You laughed as though it was a joke, which it might have very well been. You looked to Sans for some kind of validation- you weren't nuts, you were just a regular joe trying to make the world a better place, right? It wasn't stupid to want to make people happy, right? 

He was eyeing you oddly. There was something guarded about his gaze, something shut out so you couldn't see it. And all at once, you felt very small and very, very stupid. You sighed, grinding your teeth as you looked away.

"I shouldn't have told you any of this. You're just a skeleton I've just met."

"we've known each other for two months."

"Still!" You threw your arms up, angry with yourself and trying to fight back tears. Snickers jumped backwards, afraid, making you feel even worse. "I shouldn't have opened my big, fat mouth. I shouldn't just go telling my life's story to every random person who asks." Your nails bit into your wrists as you squeezed them, like some kind of punishment you were dishing out yourself. 

"if it makes ya feel better, i won't go around telling anyone." 

You let out a small noise of gratitude, hiding behind your knees again as your eyes stung.

"and, for the record, you seem to make us feel a bit better. Tori appreciates it."

Another small noise. You relaxed the slightest bit, trying to take a deep breath when your lungs were shaking.

"and don't sweat it. you can't make everyone happy all the time." You scowled again, glaring into your knees. 

"No, but I sure as hell can try." You muttered into your legs, half hoping he wouldn't hear. It was silent for a bit.

"and, hey, don't forget your own happiness, alright? no use making other people smile if it kills you to do it. now, cheer up. wanna go down to the kitchen and get a cinnabunny?"

You took a deep breath, wiping at your eyes with the backs of your hands. Snickers squeaked quietly at you, butting his head against your arms. 

"S-sure. Um, sorry about all that. I didn't mean..."

"don't sweat it."

"... Thanks."

"no prob, bob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this better?? I hope this is better. Pls be better ;; I hope I didn't make it worse,, kill me,,
> 
> A little early in the story to be spitting out back stories, but, hey, the Sue thing was really bothering me and I wanted to patch it fast before if ruined the whole fic for me. Anyway! I hope you enjoy! I know it's kind of short, but I wanted to hurry up and get this Sue thing off my chest. :(
> 
> If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, etc., feel free to let me know!


	9. The Altruist you are not

You were feeling severely less hopeful about it the day to explore the house actually came. 

You chose that specific day to wear a turtleneck for the specific purpose of hiding behind it. You had felt tense and uneasy around Sans for a few days after... the thing you didn't want to think about, but the feeling had gradually ebbed as it came to dawn on you that he didn't think any less of you as a person for having such a selfish drive behind your 'selfless' want to make others happy... At least, not out loud or to your face. 

Toriel had sent a message down the grape vine to let you know Frisk would be there to help you make a good impression with the monsters you had yet to actually meet, and, honestly, it was a relief. Frisk seemed to put them at ease; it would be easier to be friendly with them around. 

You checked the scratches on your eyeglass lenses before putting them on; still bad, but not so that you wouldn't be able to see through it. One had taken the bulk of the damage, while the other looked like it simply had hairs stuck to its surface, but they were better than nothing. You'd rather not get eye strain, thank you very much.

Sans was waiting in the doorway, Snickers' leash in his hand. It was funny how Snickers now seemed more like a dog on a leash than a cat in a vest. You walked nervously up, nodding to signal you were ready to go. 

"relax. everything should be fine." It sounded like he was trying to be teasing, but meant well behind it. You took a deep breath.

"I hope so."

When he swung open the door, you were surprised to see just how crowded the hallway outside was. Papyrus, Frisk and Undyne all glanced up at the same time, seemingly having been talking quietly amongst themselves. Papyrus beamed at you encouragingly, apparently sensing your lack of cheer, as he easily took Snickers' leash from Sans. Undyne stood up straight from where she'd been leaning against the wall, studying you carefully.

"So, you're gonna go wandering around today, huh?"

"That's the plan." You chuckled weakly, plucking at your sleeves. She grinned and leaned threateningly closer, making your laugh die in your throat.

"I see so much as one hair out of line, and you're done for." Her eye glinted dangerously, teeth looking very menacing up close. Cold jitters shot us your spine, but you couldn't break your gaze away.

Frisk made an unhappy noise, tugging Undyne's sleeve sharply. Undyne laughed in that loud, boisterous way she had. You couldn't bring yourself to join in.

"I was just teasin' 'em! You know I couldn't pass up the chance to see the punk wet themselves." She slapped you rather sharply across the back, making you stagger as she gave you a grin that seemed to be trying to be much friendlier. "But seriously, you lay one hand on any of those guys and I'll kill you."

You swallowed, giving a shaking thumbs up. "U-understood." 

Frisk frowned at Undyne, who barked out some more laughter, then took your hand and tugged you down the hallway, making you stumble to keep up. They speed-walked you all the way to the stairwell, making you chuckle weakly.

"Hey, slow down there, I have weak old people ankles, remember?"

Your small posse of monsters made their way through the maze of hallways, Frisk excitedly shooting you small smiles every now and then, Snickers trying to tangle himself in your legs as he tried to join in the excitement. You could hear Undyne and Papyrus laughing about something behind you, then Papyrus break into a groan as Sans said some sort of pun. Your spirits lifted slightly. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. You had friends with you.

Right?

Frisk paused when you reached the living room, surveying the area silently. The usual monsters were in there- some monster children in the corner playing some game you didn't recognize, a small group of three dog monsters playing a card game, another unfamiliar one to you sitting a ways off, the two bulky ones who were clearly dating, the deer, the bird-like ones, a large handful of others behind description (was that one wearing an enormous hat?). They were all murmuring quietly to one another as they usually did, careful not to be too loud as to disturb the others there. After a moment, Frisk looked up and gave you a smile before tugging your hand gently, leading you inside as Undyne, Papyrus and Sans caught up behind you.

You glanced over your shoulder once, stumbling as you did, to look back at them; Papyrus was talking uncertainly to Snickers, who was squeaking back up at him as he pulled on the leash to head in the direction of the library, where he liked to hang out, as Undyne chortled under her breath. Sans gave a small wave, clearly trying to be encouraging.

"Frisk, I'm not sure..." You mumbled through your turtleneck, casting an uneasy look around as monsters you passed looked up at you just as uneasily, if not more so. It seemed they were more at ease seeing you from a distance than up close.

They continued to pull you forward, bringing you to a stop in front of the group of monster children. They stopped their game to look up at you in... awe. As though you might disappear at any moment, like some kind of mirage. Frisk smiled at them, signing something along the lines of 'my friend' and 'hello' (you didn't catch all of it, considering it'd been years since you'd taken that class, and you had never been very good at it in the first place...). The monster children all brightened, beaming at you. An orange-yellow one lacking arms bounced forward, eyes bright.

"Yo! You're that human we see pass by all the time!"

"Y-yeah, that's me. H-hello." You wiggled your fingers uncertainly, not wanting to scare them off.

"Yo! Did Undyne totally kick your butt when she captured you?" They bounced in place, looking excited. "Yo, if I was a human, I'd never sleep, knowing Undyne was out there, ready to beat me up at any time! She used to be head of the royal guard! Now... I'm not sure what she is, but she's still totally cool! My name's Kid!" 

Well, he was certainly a child. You blinked, trying to process all the information at once. "Um... Yes, she did kick my butt pretty good," They brightened at this, making your spirits lift higher. "and I would have to agree, s-she's pretty cool. My name is (Y/N), nice to meet you, Kid." 

Suddenly, all the kids were bouncing about with excitement, asking you questions about your capture, about human things, about how many dead humans you had seen before (that one was a tad unnerving at best), and all excitedly sharing their names and who they wanted to be like one day (most of them said Undyne, though one said Alphys because she was so smart, and one said Mettaton, 'cause he was so pretty. You had no idea who Mettaton was, but agreed just to make him happy). It was exactly what talking to a bunch of children should feel like, pardoning the slightly... disturbing questions. 

You spent quite a few minutes talking with the little, easily excited chatterboxes. You could hear voices murmuring around you, too quiet to catch the longer parts, but just loud enough for you to catch the words 'human' and 'I don't know.' You tried your best to push away your doubts, putting your best effort into looking friendly and warm. You weren't sure if it worked or not.

Eventually, Frisk signed something to the kids, who promptly backed off, and dragged you over to the three bird-like, snowflake shaped monsters and the slightly unnerving deer, who continually puffed out small amounts of steam. They introduced you, and the monsters murmured greetings. You carefully sat, cross legged, on the floor beside them, clearly showing you had no weapons and were not a threat. It took a few minutes of convincing, and good bit of signing on Frisk's part, but they opened up. The three bird-monster were a family, a father and (rather melt-y) mother and their son, who enjoyed snow-based jokes. You made a joke about breaking the ice, making the father cringe, but the mother and son laugh. The deer was rather mellow, so long as you did not invade his personal space, which you could respect. 

All in all, they were just people. People that had odd appearances, yes, but people all the same. How could anyone hate monsters? They were all so... normal. And kind.

Slowly, you and Frisk made your way around the room, sometimes stopping to talk to the monsters, sometimes only stopping briefly when the monsters were already friendly or didn't seem up to talking to you. You greeted your dog friends, who quickly resumed their nuzzling and nudging, making you laugh, and quickly learned that their other friend- Doggo- could only see things that moved and thus tried to remain in continuous movement by rocking from side to side when you spoke to him. He was rather... hyper-active, and a tad yippy at times, but not all that bad. You learned the two bulky monsters were, indeed, in a relationship, which had only happened because of Frisk, to whom they were very grateful. There was a cluster of old librarians in one corner, making crosswords for one another on loose slips of paper. A small volcano with legs asked if you were hurt, and, if you were, would you like some of their magically healing lava (the answer to both of these was no). 

After a while, you glanced up to see what Papyrus and Undyne were up to to see Papyrus gone and Undyne briefly talking to Sans before making a move to leave. She paused, then caught your eye and made a rather sinister 'I'm watching you' gesture before striding off. Understood.

It was not long after that that someone called to Frisk, waving from the other side of the room, and they dropped your hand to point at said monster before jogging off, as though to say 'I've got to talk to them, I'll be right back.' You smiled after them, feeling light on your feet and surrounded by warm voices. This wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. In fact, you felt ready to talk to one on your own!

You glanced around, spotting the foreign dog monster in the corner. He looked awfully alone. Dog monsters seemed to be congruous; maybe he needed a pal? You smiled, walking up carefully behind him.

"H-hey there." 

His ear twitched, and he turned his head just enough to peer over his shoulder at you, eyes hard and cold as steel. Your skin prickled, and your smile threatened to slip. Maybe this hadn't been the wisest idea... But maybe he just... Needed a little warming up to first...? 

"What are you doing here?" He voice was nearly... a growl? Okay, maybe it was a growl. He was a dog, after all... You swallowed, hands picking at your sleeves yet again.

"A-ah, I was- I was just thinking I could walk about for a little bit...? You know, get to know you guys a little bit? You looked-"

"You have no right." That was definitely a snarl. You were regretting a lot of things right now, but maybe you just needed to try a little harder.

"W-well, I-I know, but... I don't mean any harm."

"Your kind means nothing but harm!" 

You stepped uneasily back as he got to his feet, fur bristling. Things went oddly quiet, and you could feel the monsters in the room edging closer. Tension prickled in the air. You glanced from side to side, looking for a friendly face. But nobody came. Frisk wasn't anywhere to be seen, and you couldn't see the doorway, where Sans was meant to be waiting. 

The dog monster was snarling, bearing his long canines threateningly. There were scuffs across his cheeks, and bandages around his paws and along his side. He was much taller than you expected, and you stepped back again as he loomed angrily above you, raising your hands as placatingly as you knew how.

"I-I-"

"It's because of your kind that Dogaressa is hurt!" 

The circle shifted, rippling as the monsters glanced at one another, murmuring to one another. There was something you didn't like about their gazes. There was no where to escape to, no where to go. No where to go. No where to go all along. You thought you heard a quiet 'what's going on?,' but your ears were full of the rushing sound of your blood. Your hands were shaking. Your heart was pounding. Your legs were quivering. Your throat shook as your gut flipped over. You grimaced up at the dog above you, scared and guilty and ashamed and afraid all at once. How dare you. How dare you even think for a moment...

"I-I'm sorry!" You stepped back again, a small step, monsters on all sides, all of them persecuted by your kind. You desperately stared into the blazing eyes of the dog, hands raised near your chest in some attempt to defend yourself, throat gulping drily.

"Sorry won't save my wife!"

He raised his hands above his head, and suddenly he was holding something, and there was an energy spike in the air that made your hair stand on end, and the circle broke into chaos, all the monsters suddenly breaking the tension by bursting into noise or movement or shooting small, white projectiles through the air. You stared, horrified, as the dog bore down on you, something that looked like an enormous ax in his paws, poised to bring it down and cut you clean in half.

There was a sharp tug in your chest, and you were dragged hastily, hurriedly backward, monsters flying past on all sides, heels scraping along the carpet. The monsters continued to stamp their feet and yell and make noise at one another, all speaking at once, words you couldn't catch, not noticing Frisk desperately trying to calm them down, and something crashing loudly as you skidded to a halt in the hallway, Sans standing there, hand poised in the air as one socket lit aflame. 

Even he was truly terrifying in that moment. You shrank away, afraid of that flame, fearful of that hand. 

There was a roaring bark of anger, and you could see several monsters blocking the dog monster's path as he raged behind them. Loud footsteps came pounding down the hallway, and you jerked away so sharply that your shoulder struck the wall harshly as Undyne and Papyrus came running up, Undyne wielding a spear, Papyrus carrying a frightened Snickers. 

"What happened?!" Undyne snarled over the noise, eye frantically going from you to the monsters in the living room as Sans put a hand on your arm, tugging you away. You cringed cowardly, away from that gaze, away from that spear, one arm above your head.

"Dogamy attacked them, and everyone else got riled up. get in there and calm them down before something bad happens." Sans jabbed a finger in the direction of the living room, still tugging you down the hallway, away from the noise, away from the pandemonium. "c'mon, you need to get out of here. now." 

And then you were being dragged hurriedly down the hallway, watching Papyrus and Undyne shrink in the distance as monsters poured out of the kitchen and library further down the hall, all adding to the noise. You stumbled and hastily tried to keep your feet as Sans quickly rounded a corner, jerking you up the stairs. 

You staggered and stumbled behind him as he nearly ran down the hallways, and had not adrenaline been filling your head with loud, untamable static, you would have remarked that you would have never imagined you'd ever see him run in all the days you ended up staying here. You were wheezing and panting, out of breath, by the time he slowed to a stop in front of your door, letting you inside before he followed, shutting the door solidly behind him. 

He took a deep breath, held it a moment, then let it out slowly, looking worn. You stood, still besides your shaking, hands clamped over your mouth, fingers gripping your face as if to remind yourself yes, you could still feel, where you had stopped in the middle of the floor. After a moment, your legs could no longer hold you, and you stumbled against the bed, hands clenching wads of your thick turtle neck as you tried to remember how to breath, counted all your fingers and your toes, tried to stop your muscles from spasmodically quivering all over your body.

For a while, all you could hear was the screaming inside your head. Then, there was a movement beside you, and you cringed away, one hand half lifted to block whatever sort of blow may be coming your way. After a second, you realized it was Sans. It seemed he was being careful to keep his distance. You tried to force yourself to relax, but you couldn't look at him. When had you started crying?

"you all right?" You cringed slightly at his voice, trying to untie your tongue from the solid knot it had formed.

"N-n-n-not re-really." 

"i'm sorry... /that/ happened. we thought he was still in the medical wing. if we'd known he was in there..." Sans sighed, and you flinched when he lifted a hand to rub at his face. You took several deep breaths, trying to calm your quivering vocal chords.

"W-what happened... T-to his wi-wife?" Your grip on the sweater near your stomach tightened. Any moment now, you would empty the contents of your stomach. Sans was silent for a bit. 

"they were jumped on by a group of humans yesterday. she'll be fine. just needs a bit of food and rest, and she'll be alright. Dogamy has always been pretty dramatic over anything that's happened to her. don't take anything he might have said too seriously; he wasn't thinking straight."

"N-n-no. H-he was r-r-right." You tried to blink them away, but still more tears poured down your cheeks. You felt like something was eating you up from the inside, filling you with a great big, empty nothing...

"oh?"

You couldn't bring yourself to answer him. Your breaths turned shaky as the tears refused to stop, and you felt like you were drowning, drowning, drowning...

Your kind had done nothing but harm to them.

What kind of fool you were. What kind of idiot. You were a human. You were a captive. Humans persecuted monsters. Monsters couldn't trust humans. Monsters hated humans. The only human they could count as their friend was the ambassador. You- you were just a captive. Their hostage. There was no way, not in a thousand years, that would see you as anything more than scum of the earth. 

But, of course, you had managed to fool yourself into thinking otherwise. You always had been good at drowning yourself in the prettier fantasies than the bitter realities. You had lied to yourself so much, so often, simply to make yourself feel better, you had forgotten that's all it really was. A lie.

You had always been rather practiced in denial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ,,, Well, that just happened.
> 
> I've been brainstorming ways to fix this fic all day, and decided to try something like this out. (God damn it, why do all my fics end up being explorations of the troubled mind?) I'm really beginning to hate the way I wrote the first chapters of this fic, and it's really ruining writing it for me,,, makes me angry at myself,, agh
> 
> Anyway! Let me know what you think of this approach! (If it doesn't mix well, in your opinion, I can easily delete it and try something else!) If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, etc., let me know!


	10. One in a billion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Blood mention near the middle-ish/end of this chapter! Thought I'd give you a heads up.
> 
> Also, angst.
> 
> Like a fuckton of angst.

For five days after the car accident, when your uncle was in the hospital, and you were in a cast trying to figure how to walk again, you had convinced yourself he would get better.

Even after they told you that, even if he woke, he had taken permanent damage to his brain stem and would never be the same again.

Even after they told you that it appeared he was paralyzed from the waist down and would never walk again.

Even after you had managed to wheel yourself down to his room and had seen him, lying so still in that cold hospital bed, you had thought he would wake up in a little bit and he'd be okay and everything would go back to normal. 

When he hadn't, it had roughly the same affect Dogamy's aggression had on you. The castle of your denial had crumbled down around you as though it had been built out of pillars of sand, and you had been forced to face the cruel reality you had been trying to hide from because you weren't ready to take it for it what it really was.

You were just a coward, a coward hiding behind ideals and impractical realities. You were not your uncle. No one just liked you in the same way people just liked him. You did not have his integrity. You were just a weak, spineless coward hiding from reality. Who had you been kidding...

You were a captive, nothing more. You might as well act like one. No use trying to force these monsters to be friends with you. No use trying to make them happy. What was the point?

You curled up on the bed, trying to ignore the aching in your shoulder, trying to ignore the pounding inside your skull, trying to ignore the throbbing in your chest. You felt so tired, so heavy, so trapped inside your own body. Snickers curled up beside you, pressed against your back. You looked in the direction of the door, hearing the murmuring of voices outside. You recognized Sans' voice easily- he'd been sticking around ever since Dogamy's attack a day or so ago. You were losing track of time. The other was louder. Lighter. Undyne?

"... can't. not yet."

"I just want to ask them their side of the story! I'm getting a bunch of conflicting reports here." 

"i don't think they're ready to say anything yet. shook them up pretty bad. they need some rest. can't let you in."

There was a loud, harsh noise from Undyne. 

"what are they saying happened? i didn't exactly get a good look, but i have an idea."

"Some say they went up and provoked him. Others say they were just trying to be friendly and he took it the wrong way. A lot of them reported seeing them looking scared and apologizing, but that could mean anything." 

"i don't think they would have provoked him into attacking on purpose."

"What makes you say that?"

"said something along the lines of 'he was right'. they didn't fight back, either."

"No one said anything about fighting back, either... Most of them said they were trying to back away, putting their hands up defense. Could've just been they realized they were beat, though."

"dunno. their LV is pretty low. what did Frisk say?"

"Said they were just trying to be nice, and that they'd been friendly to all the other monsters. Walked away for a minute, then all hell broke loose."

"you know how those guys can get at times like this. one looses it, and the rest just naturally follow." 

"I know. I'm planning on going through another round of questioning once they've all mellowed out again." 

"good idea."

A long pause. You closed your eyes again, thinking they'd gone.

"How're they doing now? Didn't get hurt?"

"sleeping, i think. think they got pretty overwhelmed by all that happening at once. bruised shoulder, but i think that was more of an accidental thing than a purposeful hit."

"Alright. Let me know when they're feeling up to talkin'."

"yeah."

Footsteps faded away. You opened your eyes, staring out into the room. You shifted and sat up as the door opened. Sans looked tired. He seemed surprised to see you were awake. A plate of food found its way to the table beside you.

"heya. how ya feeling, pal?" 

"... Okay."

You picked over the food, which was tasteless and felt like cardboard in your mouth. You rolled your shoulder, testing it carefully. It hurt yes, but nothing was out of place. That was... good? After a minute, you shuffled over to sit with your back to the wall. 

It was a beautiful day outside. 

 

Days passed, but you didn't leave the room. Sans would ask you,

"feelin' up to going to the courtyard?"

And you would respond,

"Not today. Maybe tomorrow."

Undyne questioned you what you could only assume was a handful of days after... the thing that happened. She seemed to be careful with her questions. She kept them rather simple.

"What were you doing when he turned aggressive?"

"I was trying to talk to him."

"What did you say?"

"I said hello, and he asked me why I was there, then told me I had no right to be here." 

"Did you say anything that could be misconstrued?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

After a while, she had stood, had a quick word with Sans, then left. Sans had reassured you she had recently asked around to see what the monsters who were around at the time thought happened, and it looked like they had realized they had been swept in the moment and now felt bad for causing for such a ruckus, many expressing their certainty that you hadn't done anything wrong, not really. You were fairly certain he only said that to make you feel better. It didn't work.

"I shouldn't have been there. That's what I did wrong."

"Tori gave you permission."

"I'm a human."

"and?"

"Everything that's ever gone wrong for your kind has happened because of my kind. I shouldn't have... done anything."

"you can't group yourself in with the ones who've done the bad things."

"We're all the same species."

Sans seemed off put by your change in attitude at first. Then he started being careful. Like you were made of glass. Like one harsh word and you would shatter. Part of you wished it was true, so someone could yell at you and then you'd be out of their hair. 

You were just their captive. They shouldn't have been so kind to you. You didn't deserve it.

Papyrus came in every other day, asking if you wished to play a card game before he took Snickers out for a little bit. You would play one or two games, distracted and not really putting much effort into it. You tried to be happy for his sake. It didn't work very well. You don't think he bought it.

Sans ended up spending long periods of time in that room you were being kept in. Sometimes, he'd ask questions.

"feeling up to going out?"

"Not today."

"wanna go down to the kitchen and get a cinnabunny?"

"I'm not hungry."

"want to go find Frisk and say hi?"

"They're probably busy."

After a while, you had some of your own.

"Sans..."

"yeah?"

"When you let me go, will I even have a home to return to anymore?"

He was very quiet.

"I have to pay rent once a month, and I've been in here for... a while. I've lost count of the days. My pencil broke and I didn't have the heart to tell you I needed it to be sharpened. Last time I checked it was two months. My landlord would have evicted me by now if I was there. What would I do when you let me go and I didn't have anywhere to go?"

"we've taken care of your apartment. it's still there." 

Silence. You waited a bit.

"Sans..."

"yeah."

"Will you ever let me go, or will you do something... else?"

"no. no to the second thing, anyway. i figure we'll have to let you go eventually."

Silence.

"When?"

"i don't know."

"I wouldn't tell-"

"we know. it's not that we're worried about. if other, stupider humans found out you'd been at our hide out for an extended period of time, they'd do just about anything to get information out of you." 

"Oh."

Silence.

"I wouldn't tell them. I know I'm a coward, but I'd rather die than give you guys any more trouble." 

You saw him lift his head out of the corner of your eye. You put your cheek on your knee and looked back at him. He looked dumbstruck.

"what?"

"If I ended up getting caught, I could deal with it."

"they'd do some fucked up shit to get you to speak."

"So?"

"'so'?"

"I'm just your captive. If I got a little hurt, but you stayed safe, what would it matter?"

"what would it matter? we don't want you hurt, that's the whole point."

"But... I'm just another human. I'm just your captive."

"hardly. i'm pretty sure Papyrus thinks of you as a lot more than 'just another human.'"

"But, I..."

"i don't know if we'll be able to let you go until we get some kind of peace treaty going, and we've been at that for a year. what's the point in keeping you here to keep you safe if you're gonna be unhappy the whole time?"

Silence.

"I don't understand. I'm just a human. M-my kind... My kind means nothing but harm."

"you don't. you're an individual that has a moral compass. we're not going to judge you on the faults only some others have made. we've judged you, and we're treating you as we think you should be treated."

"I..." You stared at your hands as they blurred and warped under your watery gaze. "I'm just another human. I don't understand. Why are you being so nice to me?"

You were a coward. You were weak. You were a spineless whelp. Most of all, you were a human being. Human beings killed monsters for sport. You were one of the real monsters. You should have been treated as such. They should have hated you.

You were just a coward.

 

For a long time after your uncle died, you had the same dream, over and over. This time, however, something was different.

You were coughing. The air stank and tickled your lungs, not unlike smoke, but something different. You couldn't see. Something was sticking to your eyes, making you blink over and over as it stung sharply in your tear ducts. It wasn't blood this time. Something different, but just as painful.

You tried to speak, to call out for your uncle, but broke off to cough and sputter as something came surging out of your mouth, choking you. You couldn't see what it was, couldn't tell what it was. 

You felt your way forward, pulling a hand back when you felt the shattered windshield at your fingertips. You grabbed something, pulling yourself through the shrapnel as your leg dragged uselessly behind you. It felt as though the bone had been split in half down the middle. Still, you tried to blink back whatever was clogging your eyes, nails scraping against pavement.

"U-un-cle? U-uncle-?"

You broke off, sputtering out mouthfuls of something thick, heavy, and grainy. You desperately tried to wipe at your eyes, but there was yet more on your fingers. Blurry shapes began to take form.

"Un-uncle? P-plea-se..." 

Your stomach heaved, and every time you opened your mouth, you ended up speaking though what felt like a mouthful of sand, pouring out of your open jaws but sticking to your throat and catching between your teeth. Tears streamed from your eyes. They scorched your cheeks as they slid down.

You coughed and hacked, making your way through the graveyard of sharp, splintered objects on only your hands and elbows. Desperately, you blinked harder, straining your optic nerves and feeling them stretch like loose threads of bubblegum. Any moment, they would snap. Finally, things began to clear.

This time, it was not blood on your hands, pooling onto the ground, forming sick, mirror-like puddles. It was dust, dust like fine sand, dust the pale gray of old flour. 

It was all over your hands and sleeves, sticking to your cheeks and bubbling out of your mouth like some kind of grotesque fountain, blinding you and choking you all at once. You forced your way forward, trying to ignore the small puffs and streaks of dust scattered across the ground, dust where there should have been blood. 

Finally, you caught sight of the limp, battered shape. Glass bit into your elbows as you struggled frantically forward, then dug into your cheek when one of them gave. Your fingers strained and bled as you dragged yourself the last few inches closer, one of your pant legs catching on the loose, metal frame of what used to be a car, sending pain shattering though your entire nervous system.

You put out a hand to touch him, to roll him over, opened your mouth to say his name, call out for help, but all at once froze-

Where there should have been blood, there was dust. Where there should have been your uncle, your wonderful, lovable uncle, there was a monster, eyes empty and dead and face broken. You opened your mouth to scream, but dust came spilling out of your throat yet again. 

 

You tumbled out of the bed in a hoarsely shrieking mass, blanket tangled around your legs as you desperately tried to kick yourself free and push yourself away, away from that memory, away from that nightmare. Your vision was blurry- not with dust, but with tears. Your cheeks were freezing, chapped with salty tear tracks. Your whole body hurt. Still, the feeling of dust clung to your senses, and you scratched at your eyes, trying to claw it away.

"whoa, whoa, whoa!" 

Two hands caught your wrists, pulling your hands away from your face, and you gasped and blinked into the darkness. Your vision swam into clearness, your heart high in your throat, your hands trembling fiercely in the stronger, pale white grip. 

"you're alright, you're alright, you need to calm down. it was just a dream. you're alright."

Sans' face shine silver in the moonlight, eyes very bright in the dark room. Your heart jumped and you fought your hands free, pushing his arms away and yourself backward on the heels of your palms, fearful of the thing you had seen in your dream. Sans stared back at you, looking confused but concerned nonetheless. You put up your hands, not wanting to look at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean for this-" You were choking on your tears and your own lack of breath, heart thudding loudly inside your head. Your skin was cold. The floor beneath you was chilled, and jolts went up your spine as you bumped into the wall beneath the windows. 

"hey, hey, deep breaths. you need to calm down. breathing like that can't be good for you." 

Long, boney fingers took your wrists again, more gentle this time. Slowly, your hands were pulled away from your face again. Sans kept a firm, not hard, grip on you for a moment, peering into your face. Your vision danced and you blinked, trying to clear it, only to squeeze your eyes shut in an attempt to block out everything. 

"hey, hey. you're alright. it's just me. it's Sans."

You swallowed, but your throat was dry, and all it did was make it harder to speak.

"I know, I know, it wasn't him, it was-"

"hey, deep breaths. you're going tibia okay." 

Your vision shook as he let go of one of your hands and pulled you closer, pressing you into his ribs in a loose hug. It wasn't... uncomfortable. You grabbed at his chest, hiding behind the folds of clothing around his shoulder. You took several deep breaths, trying to blink past your tears. The small drops of salt water stained his sleeve, and you felt a pang of guilt. 

You stayed like that, huddled on the floor, for what felt like a long time. The world was very still. A pair of eyes gleamed at you from under the wardrobe. Eventually, Sans drew away slightly. 

"you alright?"

You took another shaking breath, wiping your tears away with a sleeve. After a moment, you nodded, throat too tight to speak.

"good. nightmare?"

Another nod, smaller this time. You refused to meet his gaze. Doing so might just break you all over again.

"don't wanna talk about it, huh?"

You shook your head, very slightly. Your head was pounding, eyes aching. 

"'s all right. want to go back to bed?" 

A long pause. A small shake of the head. Long, white fingers brushed your cheek, wiping some of the tear stains away. 

"alright. want me to stay up with you?"

You blinked, conflicted. After a moment, you met his gaze. Kneeling there on the floor in front of you, the way his eyes glowed almost felt understanding. You looked away again, stomach turning over. A small nod. You thought you saw him smile almost comfortingly out of the corner of your eye. 

"alright." 

He shuffled over, back against the wall right beside you, head nearly touching the windowsill above him. There was a few inches distance between you, and you eventually shuffled closer, just until your arm brushed his. It was a reassuring presence.

"looks like it rattled your bones, eh?"

You chuckled weakly, though it sounded more like you were choking. 

You stayed awake for what felt like an eternity, eyes run dry on tears, throat sore and dry but empty of words, arms and legs aching and head pounding. Eventually, very slowly, Snickers came crawling out of his hiding place and climbed weightlessly into your lap, peering up at you as he wrapped his tail over his nose and put a paw on your arm. You smiled the best you could, petting him with a tired hand until you dozed off and your arms fell slack.

When you woke from a dreamless sleep in the morning, you were in the bed and the curtains were drawn, blocking out the worst of the light. On the table was a tall glass of chilled water, a cinnabunny, and two small pills you knew unmistakably for being painkillers. While you remembered having a nightmare, the details escaped you, and while there was something vaguely there about Sans, you couldn't remember many specifics. The room was quiet and empty.

Sans only appeared a few hours later, asking if you felt up to going out that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things just keep getting better and better, eh? 
> 
> I don't know how to feel about these most recent chapters... I'm a tad fond of them, in a way, for utilizing something I saw as a problem and tried to work into character development/ possible conflict. The other part of me is like 'I still have no idea what I'm doing.' 
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!! (It's still not too late for me to delete these and try something different!) If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, let me know!


	11. Author's Note

Okay so this is either on hiatus or going to be deleted at some point. It... kind of depends. 

In a way, I hate it and wish I'd thought it through more before just putting it out there, but in another way I still like the idea I had for it, even if that's not how it came out? Does that make sense? Maybe I'll just rewrite it entirely or something. That seems the most logical conclusion, if I wanted to continue it. 

At the moment, I've been having trouble motivating myself to write at all, so... Apologies for that. I'll see if I can get back on track and either rework this or try to salvage it.

Stay lovely, folks !


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